FRESNO, Calif. – BYU women’s tennis (5-0) defeated Fresno State (1-0) and Sacramento State (0-1) on Friday at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center. The Cougars’ fifth consecutive win to begin the year matches their best start since the 2005-06 season, when BYU head coach Holly Parksinson Hasler was an assistant on the staff.

“I’m proud of the girls today,” Hasler said. “Our first trip to play at sea level and outdoors is always a big adjustment. We didn’t play our best, but we battled and fought hard at every position.”

Leah Heimuli and Kara Lin got things going for the Cougars early from the No. 2 doubles spot, quickly defeating Ella Husrefovic and Carlotta Nonnis Marzano of Fresno State, 6-1. Anastasia Abramyan and Elizabeth Tullis, playing as the No. 1 doubles team, clinched the doubles point for the Cougars, beating Deniza Marcinkevica and Cristina Flaquer, 6-4. Emilee Astle and Helen Jiao were on pace to defeat Dalia Ahmed and Carolina Piferi, up 6-5, but didn’t finish their match.

Things were closer in the singles matches. Four of the six matches went into the third set, but only two of them finished. Lin fell to Flaquer in the No. 3 spot, 6-0, 6-3. Abramyan picked the Cougars back up, winning the final two of three sets over Marcinkevica, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Madeline Wanlass put the Cougars up 3-1 after defeating Carolina Piferi, 7-5, 6-2. Heimuli clinched the win for BYU in a back-and-forth match against Dalia Ahmed. Ahmed won the first set 6-3, but Heimuli grinded out a victory 7-6 (7) to even the score before taking the third set, 6-3. Astle and Jiao were in the middle of their third sets when Heimuli collected the Cougars’ fourth point and did not finish. Astle dropped the first set 1-6, but rebounded nicely, winning 6-4. She was leading 5-2 when Heimuli logged her win. Jiao was also leading at the time the match ended. Jiao defeated Husrefovic, 6-3, in the first set, dropped the second, 5-7, and led 3-2 in the third frame.

Shortly after the match against Fresno State ended, BYU took the court against Sacramento State. The Cougars swept the doubles matches, with all three teams collecting dominant wins. Heimuli and Lin defeated Megan Tagaloa and Jayden Nielsen, 6-0. Astle and Jiao also won 6-0, beating Tsveti Yotova and Ege Tomey. Abramyan and Tullis picked up the final doubles win for BYU when they defeated Shauna Casey and Grace Dodd, 6-1.

The Cougars kept things rolling in the singles matches. Lin started off by defeating Tomey in the No. 2 spot, 6-1, 6-3. Astle mirrored those results, beating Tagaloa 6-3, 6-1. Heimuli finished the day strong, with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Nielsen. Jiao defeated Yotova, 6-4, 6-3. Tullis came back against Jin Yu, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4. Xenia De Luna closed out the day for BYU with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 win against Casey.

The Cougars will wrap up their first road trip of the season in a Saturday matinée match against Cal Poly (1-0). The Mustangs opened their season with a decisive win over Grand Canyon on Friday, 6-1. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. PST. In accordance with local health protocols, no fans will be allowed to attend.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 4, Fresno State 1

Doubles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Elizabeth Tullis (BYU) def. Deniza Marcinkevica/Cristina Flaquer (FSU), 6-4

2. Leah Heimuli/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Ella Husrefovic/Carlotta Nonnis Marzano (FSU), 6-1

3. Emilee Astle/Helen Jiao (BYU) v. Dalia Ahmed/Carolina Piferi (FSU), 6-5, BYU, DNF

Order of finish: (2, 1, 3)

Singles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Deniza Marcinkevica (FSU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3

2. Leah Heimuli (BYU) def. Dalia Ahmed (FSU), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3

3. Cristina Flaquer (FSU) def. Kara Lin (BYU), 6-0, 6-3

4. Emilee Astle (BYU) v. A.C. Hummel (FSU), 1-6, 6-4, 5-2, BYU, DNF

5. Helen Jiao (BYU) v. Ella Husrefovic (FSU), 6-3, 5-7, 3-2, BYU, DNF

6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Carolina Piferi (FSU), 7-5, 6-2

Order of finish: (3, 1, 6, 2)

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 5, Sacramento State 0

Doubles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Elizabeth Tullis (BYU) def. Shauna Casey/Grace Dodd (CSUS), 6-1

2. Leah Heimuli/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Megan Tagaloa/Jayden Nielsen (CSUS), 6-0

3. Emilee Astle/Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Tsveti Yotova/Ege Tomey (CSUS), 6-0

Order of finish: (2, 3, 1)

Singles Competition

1. Leah Heimuli (BYU) def. Jayden Nielsen (CSUS), 7-5, 6-1

2. Kara Lin (BYU) def. Ege Tomey (CSUS), 6-1, 6-3

3. Emilee Astle (BYU) def. Megan Tagaloa (CSUS), 6-3, 6-1

4. Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Tsveti Yotova (CSUS), 6-4, 6-3

5. Xenia De Luna (BYU) def. Shauna Casey (CSUS), 6-3, 5-7, 10-5

6. Elizabeth Tullis (BYU) def. Jin Yu (CSUS), 3-6, 6-0, 6-4

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

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis (3-0) will make its first road trip of the year, traveling to Fresno, California to face the Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0) and Sacramento State Hornets (0-0) on Friday, Feb. 5, and the Cal Poly Mustangs (0-0) on Saturday, Feb. 6. The Fresno State match will begin at 11:00 a.m. PST, Sacramento State at 4:00 p.m. PST, and Cal Poly at 2:00 p.m. PST.

BYU came away with a pair of wins after a doubleheader against Dixie State on Saturday. The Cougars won the first match, 7-0, without dropping a single set. Their success carried over into the second match, winning again, 7-0. With its 3-0 record, BYU is looking for its first 4-0 start since the 2012-13 season.  

Fresno State begins their season on Wednesday when it hosts Fresno Pacific. The Bulldogs went 7-7 last year, finishing with a three-match losing streak. The two teams met up last season, with Fresno State winning in Provo, 4-3. The Bulldogs trailed 0-3 before winning the final four singles matches. The Cougars are 3-8 all-time against the Bulldogs.

BYU’s match against Sacramento State will be the season opener for the Hornets. Sacramento State finished last season 2-9, going 0-3 against teams from the West Coast Conference. Sacramento State, though young, returns a number of players with match experience. The Hornets return nine players from last year’s squad, including just one new face on their year’s roster. Sacramento State returns two seniors, in Ege Tomey, a Washington State transfer from Turkey, and Frana Ugarkovic, of Croatia. BYU is 1-0 all-time against Sacramento State.

Saturday's match will be the second ever between BYU and Cal Poly. Cal Poly finished last season with a record of 9-2, going 1-0 in neutral site matches. The Mustangs had an impressive 8-1 record in the state of California, losing just one match, on the road, 1-6, to San Diego State. 

In accordance with local health protocols, no fans will be allowed to attend. 

Doubles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan & Madeline Wanlass (0-1)
2. Leah Heimuli & Kara Lin (2-1)
3. Emilee Astle & Helen Jiao (3-0)
4. Madeline Wanlass & Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)

Singles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan (1-0)
2. Leah Heimuli (3-0)
3. Kara Lin (3-0)
4. Emilee Astle (3-0)
5. Helen Jiao (3-0)
6. Madeline Wanlass (2-0)
7. Xenia De Luna (2-0)
8. Elizabeth Tullis (1-0)