BYU women’s tennis defeats UNLV, 4-3

PROVO, Utah – After falling behind 1-0 in doubles, the BYU women’s tennis team came back to take four-straight singles wins and claim the match, 4-3, against UNLV on Saturday.

"Today was a break through for the team," Head Coach Holly Parkinson Hasler said. "After a tough loss yesterday, they came out against a very tough opponent determined and with a will to win. UNLV was not ready for us. We played with more heart than I've seen this season and i'm hoping this will be a great confidence builder for the team. I am so proud of these girls."

Polina Malykh took her second match in two days as she won 6-3, 6-2 against the Rebel’s Izumi Asano. Malykh’s overall record on the season is now 6-2. Kate Cusick, Madeline Almeida and Taylah Beckman also claimed victories, helping to increase BYU’s winning record to 5-3.

The Cougars fell to a 1-0 deficit after doubles play; Kate Cusick and Anastasia Abramyan battled in their No. 1 doubles match against UNLV’s No. 42 Aiwen Zhu and En-Pei Huang, taking four sets. However, the Rebels ultimately came out on top, winning the match 6-4. BYU’s Samantha Smith and Taylah Beckman were then defeated in No. 3 doubles against UNLV’s Anna Bogoslavets and Samantha Li, 6-1. The Cougars’ Malykh and Madeline Almeida left an unfinished match in No. 2 doubles at 5-5.

BYU then came back to win four-straight matches in singles; Malykh took the first win which was followed by a 6-4, 6-2 Almeida victory in No. 5 doubles against the Rebel’s Connie Li. Cusick then snapped her singles losing streak as she defeated UNLV’s Bogoslavets, 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 2 position. Beckman rounded out the Cougar wins in No. 6 singles, taking a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Rebel’s Samantha Li.

To finish off the match day, BYU’s Abramyan tallied a set against UNLV’s No. 84 singles Zhu, but lost the match 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 in No. 1 singles. The Cougars’ Samantha Smith also suffered a loss in No. 4 singles against Huang, 7-5, 6-1.

BYU will play its last match of the weekend against Fresno State on Monday March 4 at 11 a.m. PST at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center.

Doubles

1. #42 Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Kate Cusick/Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-4
2. Polina Malykh/Madeline Almeida (BYU) vs. Connie Li/Izumi Asano (UNLV) 5-5, unfinished
3. Anna Bogoslavets/Samantha Li (UNLV) def. Samantha Smith/Taylah Beckman (BYU) 6-1

Singles

1. #84 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) def. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
2. Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 6-4, 6-3
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-3, 6-2
4. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Samantha Smith (BYU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Connie Li (UNLV) 6-4, 6-2
6. Taylah Beckman (BYU) def. Samantha Li (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4

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