BYU wraps up final day at Metroplex Mania

DALLAS – The Cougars concluded four days of play at the Metroplex Mania Monday, finishing with 13 wins between singles and doubles. BYU finished 5-4 in doubles and 8-11 in singles play at the Metroplex Mania. 

"I saw a lot of good things this weekend and things we are going to take back and work on," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "Our goal this season is to improve every day and I think that's what we did this weekend. We played better every match."

Freshman Madeline Almeida went undefeated (3-0) in singles play throughout the tournament. Almeida had a great victory over Sarai Monarrez Yeaski of SMU in a tight match that finished 6-3, 6-4. Almeida earned a commanding win over Georgia State's (GSU) Anastasia Grosheva, only dropping one game and beating her 6-1, 6-0. 

BYU's first doubles team, senior Mayci Jones and sophomore Kate Cusick, provided the team's first doubles victory on Friday morning to begin the tournament. The duo matched up against Elizabet Danaliova and Daniela Ramirez of GSU and won 6-3. 

Cusick also had a good showing in singles finishing 2-1, including some thrillers. She delivered BYU's first singles victory on Friday after battling it out with SMU's Nicole Petchey. After losing the first set 2-6, Cusick fought back to take the next two for the 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

On Saturday morning, BYU's doubles matched up against North Texas (UNT) and won two of three matches. This was a big victory for the Cougars as the Mean Green ended the tournament with the most overall wins.

Playing together for the first time this year, freshman Anastasia Abramyan and junior Taylah Beckman went up against Nidhi Surapaneni and Minying Liang of UNT and defeated the Mean Green 6-2. Samantha Smith and Polina Malykh beat UNT's Sille Tranberg and Haruka Sasaki 6-3 to give the Cougars the overall doubles victory Saturday morning.

"This is great tournament to compete in," Jones said. "It gives us the opportunity to play a lot of matches and see where we are as a team."

The Cougars look forward to their first team match and home opener at the Indoor Tennis Courts, Jan. 26 against Weber State. The match will start at 11:00 a.m., and is free to the public.

2018 Metroplex Mania Full Results:

Day 1: Friday, Jan. 12

Singles vs. SMU

Buss (SMU) def. Jones (BYU) 6-1, 6-4

Perez-Lopez (SMU) def. Abramyan (BYU) 6-4, 6-3

Cusick (BYU) def. Petchey (SMU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

Almeida (BYU) def. Monarrez-Yesaki (SMU) 6-3, 6-4

Traxler (SMU) def. Kaur (BYU) 6-1, 6-4

Shapovalova (SMU) def. Malykh (BYU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles vs. Georgia State University (GSU)

Jones/Cusick (BYU) def. Denaliova/Ramirez (GSU) 6-3

Rehse/Taluyenko (GSU) def. Malykh/Abramyan (BYU) 7-5

Smith/Kaur (BYU) def. Vovk/Grosheva (GSU) 6-4

Day 2: Saturday, Jan. 13

Singles vs. GSU

Rehse (GSU) def. Jones (BYU) 7-5, 6-3

Ramirez (GSU) def. Abramyan (BYU) 6-4, 6-4

Muminovic (GSU) def. Cusick (BYU) 7-5, 6-4

Almeida (BYU) def. Grosheva (GSU) 6-1, 6-0

Smith (BYU) def. Vovk (GSU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles vs. University of North Texas (UNT)

Abramyan/Beckman (BYU) def. Surapaneni/Liang (UNT) 6-2

Heczey/Kutubidze (UNT) def. Jones/Cusick (BYU) 6-3

Smith/Malykh (BYU) def. Tranberg/Sasaki (UNT) 6-3

Day 3: Sunday, Jan. 14

Did not compete

Day 4: Monday, Jan. 15

Singles vs. UNT

Kutubidze (UNT) def. Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-2

Liang (UNT) def. Smith (BYU) 6-1, 6-2

Almeida (BYU) def. Tranberg (UNT) 6-1, 6-3

Cusick (BYU) def. Surapaneni (UNT) 3-6, 6-0, 7-5

Abramyan (BYU) def. Sasaki (UNT) 6-2, 6-4

Heczey (UNT) def. Malykh (BYU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Babic (UNT) def. Beckman (BYU) 6-2, 7-6 (3)

Kaur (BYU def. Petchey (SMU) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles vs. SMU

Perez-Lopez/Monrrez-Yesaki (SMU) def. Abramyan/Beckman (BYU) 6-2

Buss/Traxler (SMU) def. Jones/Cusick (BYU) 6-3

Smith/Malykh (BYU) def. Shapovalova/Hollebeck (SMU) 6-4