BYU earns sixth sweep of the season in 4-0 route of Santa Clara

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women's tennis team earned its sixth sweep of the season with a 4-0 win over West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara Saturday at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

"It was important for us to come out strong today and show that we aren't going to be affected by our losses," BYU head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. "I'm most happy with how we performed today. It's great to win 4-0, but even more, it's about the performance and how we won. Great match to build off of moving forward."

Sophomores Kate Cusick and Polina Malykh controlled the entire match in No. 2 doubles against Santa Clara's (7-8, 2-3 WCC) Maddie Pothoff and Nadine Del Carmen, to earn BYU (11-6, 4-1 WCC) it's first win of the day with a 6-2 victory. The Cougars finished off doubles play after senior Mayci Jones and freshman Anastasia Abramyan took down the Broncos' Katya Tabachnik and Elvena Gevargiz in No. 1 doubles 6-2 to give BYU the 1-0 lead.

Abramyan wasted no time in No. 2 singles against Santa Clara's Zeina El Tawil as she carried her momentum from doubles play to earn a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win, putting BYU up 2-0. 

In No. 3 singles, Malykh, who suffered her very first lost of the season Wednesday, looked to bounce back Saturday against Gevargiz. The two traded shots and battled throughout the first set before Malykh came out on top in the tiebreaker. Following the tight first set, Malykh dominated in the second set, not dropping a single game to win the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-0.

In similar fashion, No. 1 singles began with a very close first set. Jones began the set up 3-1, before Pothoff stormed back to win three-straight games and take a 4-3 lead. However, Jones maintained her composure to win the first set and won the second set handily for a 7-5, 6-1 victory to complete the Cougars' 4-0 sweep of the Broncos.

BYU will travel this coming weekend to compete against WCC opponents Loyola Marymount on Friday, April 13, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, and Saturday in Malibu at noon PDT against first-place Pepperdine. 

BYU 4, Santa Clara 0

Singles competition

1. Mayci Jones (BYU) def. Maddie Pothoff (SCU) 7-5, 6-1

2. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Zeina El Tawil (SCU) 6-2, 6-2

3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Elvena Gevargiz (SCU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0

4. Madeline Almeida (BYU) vs. Katya Tabachnik (SCU) 4-6, 3-0, unfinished

5. Kate Cusick (BYU) vs. Giannina Ong (SCU) 1-0, unfinished

6. Nadine Del Carmen (SCU) vs. Taylah Beckman (BYU) no result

Doubles competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Mayci Jones (BYU) def. Elvena Gevargiz/Katya Tabachnik (SCU) 6-2

2. Polina Malykh/Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Maddie Pothoff/Nadine Del Carmen (SCU) 6-2

3. Samantha Smith/Taylah Beckman (BYU) vs. Zeina El Tawil/Delaney Nothaft (SCU) 3-5, unfinished

Match Notes:

Santa Clara 7-8

BYU 11-6

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,3,1)