Cougars wrap up strong performance at Metroplex Mania

DALLAS – In the opening weekend of the 2017 season, the BYU women's tennis team came out with strong performances against SMU, Rice and North Texas at the Metroplex Mania held at the SMU Tennis Complex, Turpin Stadium & Brookshire Tennis Pavilion.

"We couldn't have asked for a better start to our season and I'm very happy with how the girls performed this weekend," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "Everyone was focused and fought hard in every match. It was great to play against three ranked Texas teams and to come out of the weekend with the most wins in both singles and doubles." 

Play began Friday and concluded Monday with the teams rotating singles and doubles matchups. While the teams did not face off in head-to-head dual matches, matches did count towards the players' individual records.

Day 1 

Friday, the Cougars matched up against the Mustangs in singles, winning five of eight matches. Senior Natella Nabieva led the Cougars with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory over SMU's Ana Perez-Lopez while fellow senior Savannah Ware-Avina picked up a decisive 6-3, 6-0 victory over the Mustang's Dasha Sharapova.

Freshmen Polina Malykh and Samantha Smith both earned wins with Malykh defeating Charlene Anselmo, 3-6, 6-0, 7-5, and Smith topping Macie Elliot, 7-5, 6-2. Sophomore Taylah Beckman also defeated SMU's Ellie Zogg 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. 

Day 2

Saturday, BYU continued the strong play against the Mustangs by sweeping all four doubles matchups. Ware-Avina and Smith combined for a 7-5 win over Zogg and Sharapova while senior Mayci Jones and freshman Kate Cusick beat SMU's Perez-Lopez and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki 6-2. BYU's Nabieva and Malykh defeated Elliot and Mary Wright of SMU 6-4 and Beckman teamed up with freshman Alana Bourgeois to score a 6-2 win for the Cougars over Anselmo and Sara Jamal. 

The Cougars continued the doubles momentum by winning two matches against the Mean Green of North Texas. BYU's Ware-Avina and Smith bested Kononova and Heczey 7-6 while Jones and Cusick defeated UNT's Thoma and Babic by the same score of 7-6.

To finish out the day, BYU paired off in singles matchups against Rice. Ware-Avina picked up her second singles win of the weekend with a 7-6, 6-7, 3-3 win after the Owls' Alison Ho defaulted in the third set. All three Cougar freshmen scored victories with Malykh defeating Savannah Durkin 6-3, 6-2, Smith beating Fernanda Astete 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Cuscik winning 7-6, 6-4, over Rice's Priya Niezgoda. 

Day 4

With no scheduled matches on Sunday, the Cougars took to the courts on Monday for doubles against Rice and singles against UNT. 

The Cougars won two of four matches against the Owls with Jones and Cusick winning 6-1 over Hodge and Astete. Nabieva and Malykh also came through with a win, beating the Owls' Niezgoda and Durkin 6-2.  

In singles, BYU again came up strong winning four matches. Jones defeated the Mean Green's Maria Kononova 6-4, 6-3. Ware-Avina tallied her third singles victory to remain unbeaten with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win over UNT's Sasaki. Smith also preserved a perfect singles record with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Laura Arcienegas and Cusick knocked off UNT's Minying Liang with a 7-5, 6-1 win. 

BYU will play its first team match of the season hosting Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 11 a.m. MST. The match will be played at the BYU indoor tennis courts. Admission is open to the public and free pizza will be served. 

Full Results 

BYU vs. SMU Singles 

1. Sarai Monarrez Yesaki (SMU) def. Mayci Jones (BYU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

2. Natella Nabieva (BYU) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 

3. Savannah Ware-Avina (BYU) def. Dasha Sharapova (SMU) 6-3, 6-0

4. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Charline Anselmo (SMU) 3-6, 6-0, 7-5

5. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Macie Elliott (SMU) 7-5, 6-2

6. Mary Wright (SMU) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 5-6, 6-4

7. Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Ellie Zogg (SMU) 6-3, 6-7, 6-3

8. Sara Jamal (SMU) def. Alana Bourgeois (BYU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 

9. Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Sara Jamal (SMU) 6-1, 6-2

BYU vs. SMU Doubles 

1. Ware-Avina/Smith (BYU) def. Zogg/Sharapova (SMU) 7-5

2. Jones/Cusick (BYU) def. Perez-Lopez/Yesaki (SMU) 6-2

3. Nabieva/Malykh (BYU) def. Elliott/Wright (SMU) 6-4

4. Beckman/Bourgeois (BYU) def. Jamal/Anselmo (SMU) 6-2

Rice vs. BYU Singles 

1. Wendy Zhang (Rice) def. Mayci Jones (BYU) 7-5, 7-6

2. Lindsey Hodge (Rice) def. Natella Nabieva (BYU) 6-2, 6-4

3. Savannah Ware-Avina (BYU) def. Alison Ho (Rice) 7-6, 6-7, 3-3 (def.)

4. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Savannah Durking (Rice) 6-3, 6-2

5. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Fernanda Astete (Rice) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3

6. Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Priya Niezgoda (Rice) 7-6, 6-4 

Rice vs. BYU Doubles 

1. Ho/Zhang (Rice) def. Ware-Avina/Smith (BYU) 6-4

2. Jones/Cusick (BYU) def. Hodge/Astete (Rice) 6-1

3. Nabieva/Malykh (BYU) def. Niezgoda/Durkin (Rice) 6-2

UNT vs. BYU Singles 

1. Mayci Jones (BYU) def. Maria Kononova (UNT) 6-4, 6-3

2. Alexis Thoma (UNT) def. Natella Nabieva (BYU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

3. Savannah Ware-Avina (BYU) def.  Haruka Sasaki (UNT) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

4. Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Laura Arciniegas (UNT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 

5.  Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Minying Liang (UNT) 7-5, 6-1

6. Alexandra Heczey (UNT) def. Alana Bourgeois (BYU) 6-2, 6-4

UNT vs. BYU Doubles

1. Ware-Avina/Smith (BYU) def. Kononova/Heczey (UNT) 7-6

2. Jones/Cusick (BYU) def. Thoma/Babic (UNT) 7-6

3. Arcienegas/Sasaki (UNT) def. Nabieva/Malych (BYU) 6-3