PULLMAN, Washington – BYU women’s tennis loses to the Washington State Cougars 5-2 in a hard-fought match in Pullman.

“It’s matches like today that have me so excited to be in this for the long haul,” said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Hasler. “I’m hoping that today instilled some serious belief in my players. We are excited to have our hometown crowd again this Saturday.”

BYU (3-1) took an early lead over WSU (4-1) during the doubles matches. The Cougars No. 2 doubles team of Polina Malykh and Emilee Astle finished first defeating  Michaela Bayerlova and Yang Lee 6-2. At No. 3 doubles, Madeline Almeida Wanlass and Helen Jiao fought hard but lost to Pang Jittakoat and Jovana Knezevic 2-6. Kate Cusick Truman and Leah Heimuli took a victory in No. 1 doubles against Hikaru Sato and Melisa Ates 6-3 to clinch the doubles point for the visiting Cougars.

Washington State tied up the score at  1-1 when Cusick Truman fell to Bayerlova 1-6, 0-6, at the No. 1 singles spot. BYU’s Almeida was the next to finish her No. 4 singles match, but fell in a tough two-set match to Ates 1-6, 3-6, to give WSU a 2-1.

In No. 3 singles, BYU's Malykh tied up the match at 2-2 with a victory against Savanna Ly-Nguyen 6-4, 6-2. WSU pulled ahead 3-2 in No. 2 singles after Heimuli lost a tight match to Sato 2-6, 6-7. In a tough battle, Jiao finished next, falling to Jittakoat 3-6, 4-6 in the No. 5 singles match. Astle’s No. 6 match ended in a loss to opponent Lee in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 1-10, bringing the final score to 5-2 for Washington State.

BYU is back home next week when it hosts Fresno State on Saturday, Feb. 8. The match between the Cougars and Bulldogs begins at 11 a.m. and will be played on the Indoor Tennis Courts.  Live stats will be available.

Doubles

1. Leah Heimuli and Kate Cusick Truman (BYU) def. Hikaru Sato and Melisa Ates (WSU) 6-3
2. Polina Malykh and Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Michaela Bayerlova and Yang Lee (WSU) 6-2
3. Pang Jittakoat and Jovana Knezevic (WSU) def. Helen Jiao and Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles

1. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. Kate Cusick Truman (BYU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Hikaru Sato (WSU) def. Leah Heimuli (BYU) 6-2, 7-6
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Pang Jittakoat (WSU) def. Helen Jiao (BYU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Yang Lee (WSU) def. Emilee Astle (BYU) 3-6, 6-3, 10-1

Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s tennis team travels to Pullman, Washington to play matches against the University of Idaho and Washington State this weekend.

The Cougars will battle the Vandals on Friday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. PDT. On Saturday, BYU takes on the Washington State Cougars at 12 p.m. PDT. Both matches will be played at WSU’s outdoor tennis center, weather permitting.

BYU is 2-0 in the season, recording wins over Weber State and Grand Canyon University. Kate Cusick Truman and Madeline Almeida Wanlass remain undefeated in singles with a 2-0 record. Emilee Astle and Polina Malykh go into this weekend with a doubles record of 2-0.

University of Idaho

The Vandals are currently 0-1 on the season after losing to Washington State last Saturday. Last year, the University of Idaho compiled a 13-9 record, going 8-2 in the Big Sky Conference. Four players from their runner-up season are returning this year.

Washington State University

With a 3-1 record, WSU has picked up two 7-0 wins and one 4-0 victory to start the season. Their lone loss was to No. 1 ranked Stanford. The team is 2-0 at home.

Live stats of the matches will be available on the BYU schedule page.