Miclat, Beckman advance after Day 1 of BYU Invitational

PROVO, Utah — BYU's Toby Miclat and Taylah Beckman advanced in both the singles and doubles draws after the first day of the BYU Invitational Tournament held at the BYU campus.

“We had a good first day," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "You always expect to see a little bit of nerves but I think the girls did well to work through it. We had some matches where we didn’t play quite as well as we could have, but I think we are doing the right things.  We’ll keep working and come out and play better tomorrow.”

Miclat defeated Washington State's Victoria Matejevic in two sets 6-4, 6-1 and will face WSU's Maria Biryukova in the quarterfinals. Beckman, a freshman from Grafton, Australia, defeated Milena Toseva of Boise State 6-4, 6-3 and will face WSU's Donika Bashota in the quarterfinal round.

Together Miclat and Beckman combined to win their first-round doubles matchup against Alice Patch and Jenna Kane of Utah State, advancing to the doubles quarterfinal.

The two victories gave Beckman an undefeated start to her BYU tennis career.

“I like watching the tournaments and the invitational on the first day because the freshmen are playing in their first matches," coach Jones-Spencer said. "I learn more about the players, especially the freshmen on the first day. It’s fun to watch them compete in a college setting.”

BYU's Erica Valimaki, Brittanie Eraso, Demi Daniels and Sarah Clifford also partcipated in the tournament. Daniels won her first match 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 before falling to the top-seeded Teal Vosburgh of Boise State. Daniels, along with Clifford, Valimaki and Eraso will continue play in the consolation bracket.

The tournament continues tomorrow with doubles matches beginning at 9:30 a.m. and singles play starting at 12:30 p.m. at the BYU outdoor tennis courts.