SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Despite being tied 1-1 early in the West Coast Conference match, BYU women's tennis dropped a disappointing 1-4 loss to Santa Clara Saturday at the Degheri Tennis Center.

The Cougars are now 10-7, 3-2 on the year, while Santa Clara ends the week of league play with a 5-9, 1-4 record.  

“Today was a disappointing loss,” BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. “Energy was low, and we did not come out ready to play. We have to bring our best self to every match no matter the opponent. We have our final two home matches this coming weekend, and we must be ready to run, fight and battle until the last point on every court.”

Samantha Smith claimed BYU’s only point in No. 6 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Santa Clara’s Nadine Del Carmen.

After BYU’s Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan fell 2-6 in No. 1 doubles, duo Taylah Beckman and Smith evened out the match with a 6-4 win in No. 3 doubles over Jamie Schroer and Nadine Del Carmen. However, Santa Clara came back in the No. 2 position to gain a 6-4 victory over Madeline Almeida and Polina Malykh.

To tie up the match, the Cougars’ Smith took the first win in singles. However, Santa Clara then won the next three matches. BYU’s Cusick fell 2-6, 2-6 against Maddie Pothoff at No. 1. In No. 2 singles, Abramyan lost to the Broncos’ Elvena Gevargiz 2-6, 4-6. The Cougars’ Katie Fitt was then defeated in No. 5 singles, 2-6, 3-6.

BYU returns to its home courts to battle West Coast Conference foe Loyola Marymount at 12 p.m. MDT on Friday, April 12. Live stats will be available on the women’s tennis schedule page.

Doubles

1. Maddie Pothoff/Elvena Gevargiz (SC) def. Anastasia Abramyan/Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-2
2. Katya Tabachnik/Caitlyn Frankel (SC) def. Madeline Almeida/Polina Malykh (BYU) 6-4
3. Taylah Beckman/Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Jamie Schroer/Nadine Del Carmen 6-4

Singles

1. Maddie Pothoff (SC) def. Kate Cusick (BYU)  6-2, 6-2
2. Elvena Gevargiz (SC) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) vs. Jamie Schroer (SC) 6-1, 5-2, unfinished
4. Madeline Almeida (BYU) vs. Katya Tabachnik (SC) 2-6, 5-3, unfinished
5. Caitlyn Frankel (SC) def. Katie Fitt (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Nadine Del Carmen (SC) 6-3, 6-2

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s tennis team returns to California this weekend to compete in back-to-back WCC matches with San Francisco and Santa Clara.

Matches against San Francisco will begin at 12 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 5, at the Olympic Club. The next day, Saturday, April 6, BYU will battle Santa Clara at 11 a.m. PDT at the Degheri Tennis Center. Live video feed and live stats will be available for the Santa Clara match.

BYU

The Cougars are coming off a 1-1 weekend, taking a 7-0 sweep over UC Irvine and a heartbreaking 0-4 loss to No. 37 San Diego. BYU's overall season record is now 9-6.

San Francisco

The Dons hold an even 8-8 record after suffering back-to-back losses last weekend against Gonzaga and Portland. The Cougars are 6-2 all-time against San Francisco.

Santa Clara

The Broncos maintain a 4-9 record with a win over Hawaii Pacific and a loss to Hawaii last week. BYU is 3-5 against Santa Clara, looking to notch another win.

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