Cougars Outplay Pioneers In 4-3 Win

Denver, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2006) -- The No. 21 BYU women's tennis team got its fifth-straight victory Saturday night, beating the high altitude and outdoing the No. 52 Denver Pioneers 4-3 at the Monaco Athletic Club. The pioneers now sit at 1-2, while the Cougars improve their record to 5-0.

"The altitude was a factor tonight and we really had to battle to get our games going, " Coach Craig Manning said. "But we finally started playing the way we know."

The Cougars began the match playing the way they know how, dominating the doubles portion of the match and taking the doubles point they are accustomed to. All three doubles teams won their matches, resulting in a clean sweep to start things off. Anastasia Sourkova and Jennifer Miccoli led the Cougars, beating Rachel Sackmaster and Annette Aksdal 8-6.

Sourkova continued her strong play in singles, playing excellent tennis and defeating Sackmaster 6-0, 6-4. Sourkova has been huge for the Cougars in their past two matches, constantly coming up with wins to help BYU pull away from its opponents.

"Anastasia has played so impressively this week," Manning said. "Her play has really helped our team this week."

Following wins by Sourkova and Sofia Holden and needing only one win to close things out, the Cougars looked to senior leader Olga Boulytcheva. Although she struggled early on in her match and lost the first set 3-6, Boulytcheva was able to adjust to her opponent and pull out the next two sets. She snuck by in the second set with a 7-5 win, but in the third proved too tough for Suzana Maksovic, running away with a 6-0 win and sealing the match-winning point for BYU.

"The competition was so tough today," Manning said. "We're just thankful we got the results we like."

BYU won't have much time to rest from this road trip, as it will head to Madison, Wis. for the ITA Nation Team Indoor Championships next week. The Cougars begin play in the tournament on Feb. 4.

Results
No. 21 BYU v.s. No. 52 Denver
BYU 4 Denver 3
Singles
1.	Jones/Chang (BYU) def. Macksovic/Smole (DU) 8-5
2.	Sourkova/Miccoli (BYU) def. Sackmaster/Aksdal (DU) 8-6
3.	Boulytcheva/Holden (BYU) def. Mechem/Boothman (DU) 8-3
Doubles
1.	Boulytcheva (BYU) def. Maskovic (DU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
2.	Aksdale (DU) def. Jones (BYU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3.	Sourkova (BYU) def. Sackmaster (DU) 6-0, 6-4
4.	Holden (BYU) def Mechem (DU) 6-1, 6-1
5.	Iwinski (DU) def. Chang (BYU) 7-6, 6-3
6.	Boothman (DU) def. Williamsen 6-0, 6-1