PROVO, Utah – Senior Anastasia Abramyan dominated the third set of her singles match against a nationally-ranked opponent to give BYU (13-6, 2-1 WCC) a 4-3 victory over Washington State at the Outdoor Tennis Courts Thursday afternoon.

BYU started out the day with two dominant performances in doubles. Emilee Astle and Kara Lin picked up a fast, 6-0, win over Fifa Kumhom and Yang Lee. The BYU No. 3 doubles team is a perfect 3-0 since teaming up. Leah Heimuli and Madeline Wanlass clinched the doubles point for BYU with a 6-3 win over Michaela Bayerlova and Pang Jittakoat. The doubles sweep fell just short as Abramyan and Helen Jiao dropped their match, 6-3, to Hikaru Sato and Melisa Ates.

Jiao completed the first singles match of the day, decisively defeating Kumhom, 6-0, 6-3. Jiao has now won 10 of 11 matches and is 13-4 on the season. Jittakoat gave Washington State its first point of the day when she defeated Lin in the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-4. Washington State tied the match at two following Savanna Ly-Nguyen’s 7-5, 6-2 win over Astle in No. 5 singles.

Heimuli continued her recent success in singles play, winning her seventh consecutive match. After beating Sato 7-5 in the first set, Heimuli dominated the second, pulling out a 6-1 victory to give BYU a 3-2 lead. Just a couple of minutes later, Wanlass suffered her first loss of the year (9-1) in a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Ates.

The match came down to the battle on Court 1. Abramyan took the first set, 7-5, but No. 86 Bayerlova answered with a 7-6 (4) win in the second. Abramyan attacked early in the third frame and jumped out to a fast 3-0 lead. Momentum stayed on the side of BYU as Abramyan took a commanding 5-0 advantage. Bayerlova fought to win the sixth game and seventh games, but it wasn’t enough. Abramyan went on to win the set, 6-2, to give the Cougars their ninth home win of the year.

The Cougars return to conference play on Saturday, April 3 when they face the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The match will be played at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts and is slated to begin at 11 a.m. MT. Live stats will be available.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 4, Washington State 3

Doubles Competition

1. Hikaru Sato/Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU), 6-3

2. Leah Heimuli/Madeline Wanlass (BYU) def. Michaela Bayerlova/Pang Jittakoat (WSU), 6-3

3. Emilee Astle/Kara Lin (BYU) def. Fifa Kumhom/Yang Lee (WSU), 6-0

Order of finish: (3, 2, 1)

Singles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. No. 86 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2

2. Leah Heimuli (BYU) def. Hikaru Sato (WSU), 7-5, 6-1

3. Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU), 6-0, 6-3

4. Pang Jittakoat (WSU) def. Kara Lin (BYU), 6-2, 6-4

5. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Emilee Astle (BYU), 7-5, 6-2

6. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Madeline Wanlass (BYU), 7-5, 6-4

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

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis (12-6, 2-1 WCC) returns home after splitting matches in a trip to the Bay Area. The Cougars defeated Pacific, 5-2, on Saturday and have won five of its last six matches. BYU will host Washington State on Thursday and Gonzaga on Saturday.

BYU Notes (12-6, 2-1 West Coast Conference)

• BYU is 12-6. The Cougars defeated Pacific, 5-2, on Saturday. They dropped the first match of the trip, in Moraga, to Saint Mary’s, 4-3, on Friday.
• BYU has wins over Pacific, Utah State, Portland, Grand Canyon, Seattle, Boise State, Sacramento State, Fresno State, Dixie State (twice), Weber State (twice). The Cougars have losses to Saint Mary’s Utah, Oregon, Denver, Colorado, Cal Poly.
• Five of BYU’s six losses have come on the road. The Cougars are 8-1 at home, 7-0 at the Indoor Tennis Courts.
• There are three players who have already reached double-digit wins this season: Helen Jiao (12-4), Emilee Astle (13-4), Leah Heimuli (12-5). Madeline Wanlass is perfect on the season at 9-0, despite an injury knocking her out of competition for a month.   
• The Cougars are experiencing a wave of success in singles play and have won five of their last six contests. Five different players have win streaks of three or more: Wanlass (9), Heimuli (6), Qianxin Kong (3), Xenia de Luna (3), Elizabeth Tullis (3).

Head Coach – Holly Parkinson Hasler

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1998
• Division I Career Record: 31-20 (3rd season)
• Record at BYU: Same

BYU Doubles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan & Madeline Almeida Wanlass (0-1)
2. Leah Heimuli & Kara Lin (5-1)
3. Emilee Astle & Helen Jiao (4-1)
4. Madeline Almeida Wanlass & Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)
5. Anastasia Abramyan & Elizabeth Tullis (2-0)
6. Anastasia Abramyan & Qianxin Kong (0-1)
7. Anastasia Abramyan & Helen Jiao (8-4)
8. Leah Heimuli & Emilee Astle (4-3)
9. Qianxin Kong & Kara Lin (4-0)
10. Kara Lin & Elizabeth Tullis (3-1)
11. Leah Heimuli & Madeline Wanlass (2-1)
12. Emilee Astle & Elizabeth Tullis (0-1)
13. Emilee Astle & Kara Lin (2-0)

BYU Singles Records

1. Anastasia Abramyan (8-6)
2. Leah Heimuli (12-5)
3. Kara Lin (5-10)
4. Emilee Astle (13-4)
5. Helen Jiao (12-4)
6. Madeline Wanlass (9-0)
7. Xenia De Luna (8-1)
8. Elizabeth Tullis (3-0)
9. Qianxin Kong (4-1)

Washington State Notes (10-8, 2-4 Pac-12)

• Washington State is 10-8 and coming off a loss at Cal, 4-3.
• Washington State has wins over Eastern Washington (twice), Arizona, Utah, USC, Idaho, Gonzaga, Montana State, Eastern Washington, Montana. The Cougars have losses to Cal (twice), Stanford, No. 38 Arizona State, UCLA, No. 15 Baylor, Washington, Texas A&M.
• The Cougars had won five of six before dropping back-to-back matches this past weekend. Washington State is 2-6 away from Pullman, 1-3 on the road.
• Washington State senior Michaela Bayerlova is 8-6 this year in singles play and ranked No. 86 nationally. 
• The last time the two schools met was in April 2019 in Pullman. BYU lost, 5-2. BYU has lost the past six matchups, with its last win coming eight years ago. Washington State leads the all-time series, 12-6.

Head Coach – Lisa Hart

• Alma Mater: Nebraska, 1999
• Hart has led the Cougars to 242 wins in 18 seasons as head coach

Washington State Match Information — Thursday, Apr. 1

• Time: 11 a.m. MDT
• Location: Outdoor Tennis Courts
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast
• Live Stream: BYU Live Stream (only if inclement weather pushes the match indoors)  

Gonzaga Notes (9-3, 1-0 WCC)

• Gonzaga is 9-3 and is coming off a 6-1 win at Portland on Saturday.
• Gonzaga has wins over Portland, Seattle, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Montana (twice), Montana State, Oregon, Eastern Washington. The Zags have losses to Arizona (twice) and Washington State.
• The Bulldogs have only played one match since March 6. They have seen 11 matches either postponed or outright cancelled.
• Gonzaga rolls into Provo on a four-match win streak. They are only 1-2 on the road this season.  
• The last meeting between BYU and Gonzaga came in April 2019. BYU was defeated, 4-1, in the first round of the WCC Championships. BYU leads the all-time series, 6-4.

Head Coach – D.J. Gurule

• Alma Mater: Pacific Lutheran University
• 15 seasons as the head coach of Gonzaga

Gonzaga Match Information — Saturday, Apr. 3

• Time: 11 a.m. MDT
• Location: Outdoor Tennis Courts
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast
• Live Stream: BYU Live Stream (only if inclement weather pushes the match indoors)