IRVINE, Calif. — BYU defeated UC Irvine 7-0 this afternoon to start its three-match road trip. The Cougars earned their second team sweep in a row and only lost one match in today's play.

"The girls fought hard today," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "We didn't necessarily play our best on every court, but found a way to pull out a big 7-0 win on the road. I'm looking forward to building off what we did well and compete hard tomorrow."

In doubles play, BYU (2-0) went 2-1 against UC Irvine (1-4) to earn the first points of the match. Freshman Anastasia Abramyan and junior Taylah Beckman got the team off to a great start at No. 2 doubles defeating UC Irvine's Yulin Chen and Flor Amiri 6-2. In No. 3 doubles, sophomores Samantha Smith and Polina Malykh beat Stephanie Neguyen and Arianna Tilbury of UC Irvine to give the Cougars the doubles match point. Senior Mayci Jones and sophomore Kate Cusick, playing in No. 1 doubles fell to UC Irvine's Stephanie Hazell and Danielle Garrido 6-3.

BYU remained perfect in singles play on Thursday, but not without some close matches. At No. 1 singles, Jones played UC Irvine's Stephanie Nguyen and after falling in the first set, fought back to win 5-7, 6-2, 10-5.  At No. 2 and No. 3 singles, the two freshmen Abramyan and Madeline Almeida  both had solid wins, respectively. Abramyan beat Chen 6-2, 6-0 and Alemeida took down Garrido convincingly 6-1, 6-1.

Cusick, playing at No. 4, competed in one of the tightest matches of the afternoon against Amiri. Cusick lost the first set 2-6, but came back swinging to win the next two 7-6 (5-0) and 10-7 to get the comeback win. Smith in No. 5 singles beat Tilbury in another thriller, 6-4, 5-7, 13-11 and Malykh at No. 6 singles beat Jacqueline Tsodikova 6-3, 6-3 to keep the Cougars undefeated in singles play this season.

BYU looks to stay hot, traveling to Long Beach, California to compete against Long Beach State Friday, Feb. 9 at 2:00 p.m. PST. No live stream or stats will be available for this match.

RESULTS:

 Doubles competition: 

1. Stephanie Hazell/Danielle Garrido (UCI) def. Mayci Jones/Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-3 

2.  Anastasia Abramyan/Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Yulin Chen/Flora Amiri (UCI) 6-2

3. Polina Malykh/Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Stephanie Nguyen/Arianna Tilbury (UCI) 6-3 

Singles competition:

1. Mayci Jones (BYU) def. Stephanie Nguyen (UCI) 5-7, 6-2, 10-5

2. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Yulin Chen (UCI) 6-2, 6-0 

3. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Danielle Garrido (UCI) 6-1, 6-1

4. Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Flora Amiri (UCI) 2-6, 7-6 (5-0), 10-7 

5. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Arianna Tilbury (UCI) 6-4, 5-7, 13-11

6. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Jacqueline Tsodikova (UCI) 6-3, 6-0

PROVO, Utah – After a perfect sweep of Weber State in the home opener, BYU travels to California this week to take on UC Irvine, Long Beach State and San Diego State for its first road matches of the season.

The Cougars (1-0) did not compete this past week and hope to take advantage of the extra practice time and rest as they prepare for back-to-back matches on the road. They will face UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 1:30 p.m. PST. The following day, BYU will then travel to Long Beach to take on Long Beach State on Friday, Feb. 9, at 2:00 p.m. PST. The Cougars will end the road trip against San Diego State on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 12:00 p.m. PST. 

Following last year’s season ending injuries, senior Mayci Jones and sophomore Polina Malykh each returned to regular season play in the Cougars 7-0 victory over the Wildcats. In their return, neither dropped a single set against Weber State.

Jones earned her first victory of the season in No.2 doubles with teammate sophomore Kate Cusick and followed it up with a win at No. 1 singles. In No. 3 doubles, Malykh and sophomore Samantha Smith delivered a strong win and Malykh closed out the sweep in a victory at No. 6 singles.

This past weekend UC Irivine competed in a doubleheader at home against Hope International and Point Loma. The ‘Eaters swept Hope International 7-0, but later fell to Point Loma 4-3. UC Irvine enters Thursday’s match against BYU with a 1-3 record.

Long Beach State played against WCC foe, Saint Mary’s this past Saturday in Long Beach. The 49ers lost to the Gaels in a 5-1 decision to fall to 1-1 on the season.

San Diego Stae hosted Point Loma Nazarene Monday and completed the home sweep, winning 7-0. The Aztecs now sit at 5-1 on the season.

No live stats or live video will be available for the three road matches.