PROVO, Utah – After winning the doubles point in its match against Denver, the BYU women’s tennis team fell short in singles play to suffer its first loss of the season, 5-2, on Saturday.

The Cougars are now 1-1 on the season, while the Pioneers improved their record to 3-1.

"Today was a great match," Head Coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. "We saw huge improvements in our doubles. Despite our best effort in singles, Denver was very good today. We are anxious to get back and get to work to prepare for Boise State and New Mexico next weekend."

Sophomore Madeline Almeida, competing in No. 5 singles, took the only singles victory of the day for BYU to improve to 2-0 in regular-season singles.

In doubles, the Cougars came back to win the No. 2 and No. 3 matches after Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan suffered a 6-3 loss to Bianca Mok and Camille V-Anderson in No. 1 doubles. Madeline Almeida and Polina Malykh claimed the first Cougar win of the day in a close 7-6 (7-5) match against Tatum Burge and Anna Riedmiller. Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman followed up with another victory against Arisha Ladhani and Toni Nelson, 7-6 (9-7), gaining the doubles point for the Cougars.

BYU then took three-straight losses in singles. In her first match as a Cougar, Alina Menshykova was defeated 6-2, 6-0 by Camille V-Anderson in No. 6 singles. Cusick was bested in No. 1 singles against No. 89 Bianca Mok 6-3, 6-1. Smith competed against Tatum Burger in No. 4 singles, but suffered a 6-3, 6-2 loss, giving the Pioneers a 3-1 lead.

Almeida then put the Cougars within one point of Denver’s lead when she defeated Toni Nelson 6-3, 6-1 in No. 5 singles, putting the team scores at 3-2, Denver. However, despite Anastasia Abramyan’s hard fight in No. 2 singles, No. 85 Arisha Ladhani came out on top 6-2, 7-5 and took the fourth point for Denver. Soon after, Malykh finished her close, three-set match in which Denver’s Anna Riedmiller took a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

The Cougars return to the court for their first home match of the season on Friday, Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. MST at the Indoor Practice Courts. Live streaming and stats will be available on the women’s tennis schedule page.

Results

Doubles

1. Bianca Mok/Camille V-Anderson (Denver) def. Kate Cuisck/Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-3
2. Madeline Almeida/Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Tatum Burger/Anna Riedmiller (Denver) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Samantha Smith/Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Arisha Ladhani/Toni Nelson (Denver) 7-6 (9-7)

Singles

1. No. 89 Bianca Mok (Denver) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 85 Arisha Ladhani (Denver) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Anna Riedmiller (Denver) def. Polina Malykh (BYU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
4. Tatum Burger (Denver) def. Samantha Smith (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Toni Nelson (Denver) 6-3, 6-1
6. Camille V-Anderson (Denver) def. Alina Menshykova (BYU) 6-2, 6-0

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PROVO, Utah – After a week off, the BYU women’s tennis team will return to the court in Colorado to play against the Denver Pioneers on Friday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. MST.

BYU (1-0) is coming off a week-long break and plans to take advantage of the extra rest and practice time to come out swinging this weekend. The Cougars' break was preceded by their first team match and 5-2 win of the season against Weber State. Polina Malykh clinched the win for BYU in her No. 3 singles three-set match against Yuuna Ukita.

Denver (1-1) just finished up match play at the ITA Kick Off in Malibu, California. The Pioneers claimed a 4-0 victory against Oregon, and then suffered a loss in their next matchup, 4-0, against Pepperdine. The Cougars hold an 8-7 advantage in their all-time record against Denver.

Match play will take place at the Denver Tennis Park. Live stats can be found here.

Follow the Cougars

Instagram: @byuwtennis

Twitter: @BYUWTennis

Facebook: BYU Women's Tennis