SAN FRANCISCO – Seniors Savannah Ware-Avina and Natella Nabieva led BYU women’s tennis to a 4-2 victory against San Francisco on Friday at the Olympic Club. 

“I was really happy with the way we bounced back today and we really set the tone with a strong doubles performance,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “Singles was a battle but we dug in and our seniors were able to clinch it for us.”

With the win, BYU (8-12, 3-5 West Coast Conference) remains in contention for a spot in the WCC Tournament. The Cougars currently hold the sixth-place spot with the top six teams being selected to compete.

In doubles competition, the Cougars started off strong with wins at first and second doubles over the Dons (5-16, 2-7 WCC). Seniors Nabieva and Ware-Avina were first off the court, defeating USF’s Genevieve McCloskey and Emily Maxfield 6-1 on court one. Freshman Kate Cusick and Taylah Beckman clinched the doubles point for BYU with a 6-1 win over San Francisco’s Shanna Dos Santos and Anna Sokiran.

BYU continued the momentum in singles, with freshman Samantha Smith extending the lead to 2-0 after defeating Dos Santos 6-1, 6-1 on court four. The Dons responded with wins at the No. 6 and No. 3 slots to even the score at 2-2. Nabieva helped the Cougars retake the lead with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 comeback victory on court two over Sorikan. Following suit, fellow senior Ware-Avina clinched the match for BYU after defeating McCloskey 6-4, 6-4 at the first singles matchup.

BYU will play next in a rescheduled match against Saint Mary’s on Monday at 10:30 a.m. PST. 

BYU 4, USF 2

Singles competition

1. WARE-AVINA,Savannah (BYU) def. McCLOSKEY, Genevieve (USF) 6-4, 6-4

2. NABIEVA,Natella (BYU) def. SOKIRAN, Anna (USF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3

3. MAXFIELD, Emily (USF) def. CUSICK,Kate (BYU) 6-4, 6-1

4. SMITH,Samantha (BYU) def. DOS SANTOS, Shanna (USF) 6-1, 6-1

5. BORJESON, Hanna (USF) vs. BECKMAN,Taylah (BYU) 7-6 (7-4), 4-4, unfinished

6. TREYES, Margarita (USF) def. PERKINSON,Demi (BYU) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. WARE-AVINA,Savannah/NABIEVA,Natella (BYU) def. McCLOSKEY, Genevieve/MAXFIELD, Emily (USF) 6-1

2. CUSICK,Kate/BECKMAN,Taylah (BYU) def. DOS SANTOS, Shanna/SOKIRAN, Anna (USF) 6-1

3. TREYES, Margarita/BORJESON, Hanna (USF) vs. SMITH,Samantha/PERKINSON,Demi (BYU) 4-4, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,6,3,2,1)

PROVO, Utah – In the final two matches of the 2017 regular season, BYU women's tennis will travel to face Santa Clara and San Francisco this weekend in California.

BYU (7-11, 2-4 West Coast Conference) will face Santa Clara (7-11, 2-5 WCC) on Friday, April 21, at 11 a.m. PDT before traveling to San Francisco to face the Dons (5-14, 2-5 WCC) on Saturday, April 22, at 11:30 a.m. PDT.

The Cougars occupy seventh place in the WCC standings and need to win both matches in order to remain in competition for the WCC Tournament. BYU looks to rebound after dropping back-to-back matches at home against Pepperdine and LMU. The Cougars are led by senior Savannah Ware-Avina, who leads all active BYU players with 81 career singles victories.

Santa Clara maintains a 5-7 home record and will attempt to end a two-match losing streak after falling 4-3 to San Francisco last weekend. The Broncos sit ninth in the WCC standings and host San Diego on Saturday following Friday's match against BYU. SCU has WCC wins this season against LMU and Pacific.

In addition to defeating the Broncos, San Francisco also earned a 4-3 victory over Pacific earlier in WCC play and holds the eighth slot in the conference standings. The Dons have won three of the past six matches and are 4-6 at home this season.

Live stats will be available on the BYU schedule page.