Seniors deliver victory for No. 52 Cougars

PROVO, Utah – Seniors Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson-Littlewood carried No. 52 BYU women’s tennis to a 4-3 win over Oregon Saturday in Provo.

“Today was a great day of tennis,” BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “Our seniors really stepped up today and delivered a victory for the team.”

The Cougars (7-6, 2-2) got on the board first with big play during doubles. Sheehan-Dizon and Anderson-Littlewood set the tone early with a quick 6-2 victory over Lina Akesson and Paloma Gomez at No. 3 doubles. Toby Miclat and Brittanie Eraso came through at No. 1 doubles to clinch the point for BYU when they beat Nia Rose and Alyssa Tobita 6-3.

The Ducks (6-4) regained some momentum in singles. Erica Valimaki gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles but the Ducks stormed back to take the next three matches to grab a 3-2 lead in the match. Marlou Kluiving beat Toby Miclat 6-4, 6-4 while Savannah Ware fell to Nicole Long 7-5, 6-3. With the scored tied at two, Tobita took her matchup with Nicolette Tran in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to give Oregon the lead.

Needing wins in both of the last two matchups to win the match, BYU’s seniors took over. Anderson-Littlewood battled back from a set down to even the match, beating Lina Akesson 6-7, 6-2, 6-1. With the score tied, all eyes shifted to No. 1 singles. Sheehan-Dizon pulled out a thrilling, three-set win over Rose 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

The Cougars hit the road next week for two conference matches against Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara Friday and Saturday.