BYU women’s tennis defeated by No. 15 Washington State, 5-1

PULLMAN, Wash. – The BYU women’s tennis team suffered a 5-1 loss against Washington State at the Hollingbery Fieldhouse on Friday.

"Today was a tough one," Head Coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. "Washington State is a strong team with a lot of depth. We are learning that confidence and belief goes a long way. The girls are anxious to face Seattle tomorrow and improve and build on what they learned from today."

Junior Polina Malykh, competing in No. 3 singles, took the only match victory of the day for BYU to improve to 3-2 in regular season singles.

WSU swept the doubles point in No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. BYU’s Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan fell first, 6-2, in their match against Tiffany Mylonas and Hikaru Sato. Despite their hard-fought battle in No. 3 doubles, duo Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman also suffered a loss to WSU’s Michaela Bayerlova and Aneta Misovska, 7-5. In No. 2 doubles, BYU’s Malykh and Madeline Almeida left an unfinished match at 6-6 with Washington’s Yang Lee and Melisa Ates.

To start off the singles matches, WSU took the first two wins. BYU’s Cusick was defeated by WSU’s No. 35 Bayerlova 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 singles. Following, in No. 2 singles, BYU’s Abramyan was bested by WSU’s Sato 6-2, 6-1.

However, in No. 3 singles, Malykh battled for a victory in a three-set match against WSU’s Mylonas to win 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-2). Her match was followed by three tough BYU Cougar losses; In No. 4 singles, Almeida fell to WSU’s Savanna Ly-Nguyen 6-4, 6-2. In No. 5 singles, Samantha Smith suffered a 6-3, 6-1 loss to WSU’s Ates, and in No. 6 singles, Taylah Beckman was defeated by WSU’s Miksovska 6-1, 6-2.

The BYU Cougars will return to play at Hollingbery Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 23 to battle against the Seattle University Redhawks. Matches will begin at 9 a.m. PST; live video feed will be available here.

Doubles

1. Tiffany Mylonas/Hikaru Sato (WSU) def. Kate Cusick/Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-2
2. Yang Lee/Melisa Ates (WSU) vs. Polina Malykh/Madeline Almeida (BYU) 6-6 DNF
3. Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Samantha Smith./Taylah Beckman (BYU) 7-5

Singles

1. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Mikaru Sato (WSU) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-2)
4. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Madelina Almeida (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Samanthan Smith (BYU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 6-1, 6-2