Cougars fall to Lions 4-3 in WCC opener

PROVO, Utah – BYU women's tennis sustained its first loss of the season in a 4-3 decision to LMU at home Friday. 

Doubles

1. Miroshiniche/Voracek (LMU) def. Astle/Huang 7-5
2. Li/Moore (BYU) def. Tcherkes/Zahraj 6-2
3. Rogozinska/Paradis (LMU) def. Dunyon/Wheatley 6-1

      Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Dunyon and Wheatley, at no. 3 doubles, fell down early 4-1 and were defeated by Rogozinska and Paradisi 6-1. 

Li and Moore, at no. 2 doubles, led early 3-2 and went on to secure the victory 6-2 over Tcherkes and Zahraj.

Astle and Huang, at no. 1 doubles, split the first two games but fell down 4-1. Yet, the tandem fought back after winning three straight games, tying the match at 4-4. The teams went on to exchange victories and were tied 5-5. Miroshiniche and Voracek secured the match and the doubles point for LMU after winning two straight games defeating Astle and Huang 7-5. 

The Cougars failed to secure the doubles point for the first time this season. 

Singles

1. Bobo Huang (BYU) def. Veronika Miroschniche 6-4, 6-1
2. Stefania Rogozinska (LMU) def. Emilee Astle 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Jacque Dunyon (BYU) def. Eva Voracek 6-1, 6-2,
4. Tina Li (BYU) def. Isabella Tcherkes 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Anna Paradisi (LMU) def. Kara Wheatley 6-4, 6-3
6. Kim Zahraj (LMU) def. Helen Jiao 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

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

Dunyon, at no. 3, took a commanding 5-1 lead in the first set and won 6-1. In the second set, Dunyon defeated Voracek 6-2, clinching the match. 

Huang, at no. 1, led early 3-2 and defeated Miroshiniche 6-4 in the first set. In the second set, Huang led 4-1 and later won the set 6-1, clinching the victory. 

Li, at no. 4, led 4-3 early but fell in the first set 6-4 to Tcherkes. In the second set, the two were tied at 4-4 as Li went on to win 6-4. Li in the third set led 5-3 and finished the set off with a win (6-3), clinching the match. 

Astle, at no. 2 quickly trailed 3-0 against Rogozinska and fell in the first set 6-1. In the second set, Astle jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and won the set 6-3. The two went back and forth in the third set as they were tied 6-6. In a third set tiebreaker, Astle was defeated 7-5. 

Wheatley, at no. 5, lost the first set 6-4 to Paradisi and fell in the second 6-3. 

Jiao, at no. 6, fell in the first set to 6-4 to Zahraj, but fought back in the second evening things up at 6-6, but in the tiebreaker, Jiao was defeated by Zahraj 7-2. 

The Cougars return to action Feb. 11, against Utah State. The home match will begin at 12:00 p.m. MST.