LONG BEACH, Calif. – In its first match of the season, the BYU women’s tennis team fell to No. 38 Long Beach State, 6-1, on the 49ers’ home court Friday.

“We played a good team,” BYU coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “The girls fought really hard. We started off slow and tried to work off nerves. We’re a lot better prepared for our match tomorrow after playing this one.”

The one bright spot of the day for BYU (0-1) came on Court 2 when senior Megan Price took down No. 117 Laura Bernard in a three-set thriller, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Junior Aubrey Paul battled at the No. 5 position for the Cougars but was unable to top Sarah Cantlay, falling 7-6, 6-3.

BYU dropped its other four matches in straight sets to finish with the 6-1 loss.

The Cougars struggled in doubles play, losing close contests. Freshman Morgan Anderson and sophomore Desiree Tran lost a tough match on Court 2 to Cantlay and Julie Luzar, falling 9-8.

Price and freshman Meghan Sheehan-Dizon fell to Anais Dallara and Karolina Rozenberg, 8-5. The No. 1 Cougar duo was 3-2 during fall play.

The BYU netters continue play in California Saturday against UC Irvine at 1 p.m. PST.

Long Beach State: 6

BYU: 1

Singles competition:

1. Anais Dallara def. Desiree Tran 6-1, 6-4
2. Megan Price def. No. 117 Laura Bernard 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
3. Julie Luzar def. Morgan Anderson 6-2, 6-3
4. Klaudia Malenovska def. Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, 6-4, 6-3
5. Sarah Cantlay def. Aubrey Paul 7-6, 6-3
6. Anna Jeczmionka def. Lisa Waldron 6-0, 6-0
 

Doubles competition:

1. A. Dallara and K. Rozenberg def. M. Price/M. Sheehan-Dizon, 8-5
2. S. Cantlay/J. Luzar def. M. Anderson/D. Tran, 9-8
3. L. Bernard/K. Rozenberg def. A. Paul/L. Waldron, 8-0 

Match Notes:

BYU (0-1)
Long Beach State (2-0); National ranking No. 38
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,1,4,5,2)

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s tennis team heads to California to kick off the 2012 season against No. 55 UC Irvine and No. 38 Long Beach State Friday and Saturday.

“We’re looking forward to getting started,” BYU coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “We’re starting a little late this year so it feels like a long time to prep. The team is excited and ready to play.”

The Cougars (0-0) will take on the No. 55 UC Irvine Anteaters (1-2) Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. PST at the Rhodes Tennis Center in Irvine, Calif. BYU then heads to Long Beach, Calif. to compete against the No. 38 Long Beach State 49ers (1-0) Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. PST at the Tennis Stadium.

“It will be a tough and competitive start to the season facing two ranked teams,” Jones-Spencer said. “It’ll be good to play in the low altitude and face some California schools to get us ready for the West Coast Conference.”

The Anteaters are coming off a 7-0 loss to No. 4 UCLA while the 49ers are looking to continue success after a 6-1 win over Loyola Marymount in their season opener.

BYU is 2-2 all-time against UC Irvine while the match against Long Beach State will be a first for the Cougars. The last matchup between BYU and UC Irvine came last year when the Cougars fell to the Anteaters, 2-5, in Irvine.

Long Beach State is home to two nationally-ranked players in No. 117 Laura Bernard and No. 122 Rachel Manasse.

BYU will look to senior Megan Price and junior Aubrey Paul for team leadership this season. Paul led the Cougars in fall play with a 12-5 record.

Cougar fans can get a look at the team Feb. 10 when BYU hosts Denver at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.