Balanced attack leads BYU past Utah State, 6-1

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s tennis (11-5, 1-0 WCC) won its fourth straight match, defeating Utah State (5-5, 0-0 MWC), 6-1, on Saturday at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

“It was a team effort across-the-board for both matches this weekend,” said BYU head coach Holly Hasler. “I'm proud of the girls for taking care of business. We are fighting harder, adapting to adversity and playing with more confidence. Conference matches are what we’ve been working for... excited that time has finally come!”

The Cougars switched up their doubles look, placing Leah Heimuli and Madeline Almeida Wanlass together as the No. 2 team and Emilee Astle and Elizabeth Tullis at No. 3. The No. 1 duo stayed the same, with Anastasia Abramyan and Helen Jiao.

The change paid off, as Heimuli and Wanlass quickly defeated Gabrielle Dekkers and Lisa Kung, 6-2. Shortly after, Carolina Millan and Annaliese County took down Astle and Tullis, 6-3. On Court 1 and up 5-2 in the set, the Cougars struggled to clinch the doubles point. Utah State closed the gap to just 5-4, winning back-to-back game points while locked at deuce. Abramyan and Jiao overcame the momentum swing, however, and won the next game to clinch the doubles point for BYU, 6-4.

Abramyan rode the momentum earned in her doubles match as she opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Millan. Jiao picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kung less than a minute later, collecting her seventh consecutive win to move to 11-3 on the year, while also giving BYU a dominating 3-0 lead in the match. Heimuli gave BYU its fourth needed point in a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Lombera got the Aggies on the board as she defeated Astle, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. It was just Astle’s fourth loss of the year (11-4), ending a five-match win streak. Wanlass continued to be dominant in singles matches, beating Dekkers, 7-6 (3), 6-1. Wanlass’s perfect record on the year stays intact at 7-0. De Luna split sets with County, and the third set was decided in a first-to-10 tiebreaker. The two stayed close before de Luna was able to pull out a 12-10 victory.

The Cougars will jump back into WCC play next week as they travel to the Bay Area to play Saint Mary’s on Friday and Pacific on Saturday.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 6, Utah State 1

Doubles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Naya Tillitt/Renata Lombera (USU), 6-4

2. Leah Heimuli/Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Gabrielle Dekkers/Lisa Kung (USU), 6-2

3. Carolina Millan/Annaliese County (USU) def. Emilee Astle/Elizabeth Tullis (BYU), 6-3

Order of finish: (2, 3, 1)

Singles Competition

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Carolina Millan (USU), 6-2, 6-0

2. Leah Heimuli (BYU) def. Zara Ryan (USU), 7-5, 6-3

3. Helen Jiao (BYU) def. Lisa Kung (USU), 6-1, 6-1

4. Renata Lombera (USU) def. Emilee Astle (BYU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

5. Xenia de Luna (BYU) def. Annaliese County (USU), 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10)

6. Madeline Almeida Wanlass (BYU) def. Gabrielle Dekkers (USU), 7-6 (3), 6-1

Order of finish: (1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5)