CLAREMONT, Calif. — The BYU women’s tennis team lost 2-4 to Gonzaga in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, Thursday.

“We came out on fire just like we needed to and had many chances to close out the doubles today,” BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. “Singles was a battle, especially in the heat, and Gonzaga was just too good today.  Overall we battled many challenges on and off the court this year, and I’m proud of the girls for pushing past their limits on many occasions, and coming together as a team. We have so much room for improvement and I’m excited to see what next year will bring.”

Samantha Smith claimed the Cougars’ only point in No. 6 singles when she defeated Kate Ketels 6-2, 6-2.

On Courts 1 and 3, BYU and Gonzaga split matches with the Zags’ Sophie Whittle and Graciela Rosas winning 6-4 over Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan on Court 1, and the Cougars’ Taylah Beckman and Samantha Smith claiming a 6-4 victory over Domonique Garley and Komer in No. 3 doubles. To win the first point up for grabs, the Zags’ Harana Tsrutua and Ketels won a close 6-6 (7-3) match against Polina Malykh and Madeline Almeida.

Gonzaga won three matches in singles to take the match. BYU’s Cusick lost 1-6, 0-6 to Whittle in No. 1 singles. The Cougars’ Beckman was defeated by Tsuruta 4-6, 0-6 at the No. 5 position, while BYU’s Almeida lost 1-6, 4-6 in No. 4 singles.

Gonzaga will advance to the next round of the WCC Tournament and will face No. 2 San Diego.

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis begins the West Coast Conference Championships at the No. 6 seed, taking on No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, April 25 at 10 a.m. PDT.

Matches will take place at the Biszantz Tennis Center in Claremont, California. The winner of Thursday’s match will then advance to take on No. 2 San Diego on Friday, April 26 at 10 a.m. PDT. The winner of the WCC Championships will receive an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA Tournament. 

WCC Matchups

The Cougars (11-10, 4-5) last competed against the Zags (11-9, 6-3) in March and won 4-2 at home. A win over Gonzaga would send BYU to the semifinals where they would battle No. 2 seed San Diego. During the WCC race, the Cougars fell to the No. 37 Toreros 4-0 on their home courts.

Match Information

Links to stats, live scoring information, video content and recaps will be located here. Live scoring will be available for each match here; clicking on the score of a court will open a PlaySight stream as well.

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