Ezhova Clinches Win Over Nevada

PROVO -- Playing in the last match of the night, freshman Elizaveta Ezhova's singles win ensured BYU's 4-3 victory over Nevada on Friday night. With the win, the No. 56 Cougars improve to 6-6 on the season.

With the overall match score tied at 3-3, BYU's hope for a victory rested on the shoulders of Ezhova, a native of Moscow, Russia. After dropping the first set 2-6, and with the cheers of her teammates behind her, Ezhova managed to pull out tough 6-2, 6-4 wins in the final two sets.

"[Ezhova] fought hard under pressure," said BYU head coach Craig Manning. "We're just trying to play one match at a time, and trying to learn and get better as we go."

Anastasia Surkova and Kristina Doerr also recorded singles wins for the Cougars at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Doerr's 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win came over the Wolfpack's No. 47 Maria Mizyuk.

In doubles action, everything went BYU's way, as the Cougars swept all three matches. Doerr and Dolly Chang maintained their perfect record with an 8-2 win over Caroline Bailly and Ly-Huong Dinh. Surkova and Jennifer Miccoli, along with Chie Hayasaka and Elle Carney soon followed with wins of their own.

The Cougars will face Kansas tomorrow at 12 p.m. MT at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts and admission is free. All BYU parking is open to the public on Saturdays.

RESULTS
Nevada - 3
No. 56 BYU - 4
February 29, 2008
Singles
1.  A. Surkova (BYU) def. C. Bailly (Nevada) 6-3, 6-0
2.  K. Doerr (BYU) def. M. Mizyuk (Nevada) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
3.  F. Devrye (Nevada) def. D. Chang (BYU) 6-1, 6-3
4.  A. Hall (Nevada) def. C. Hayasaka (BYU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5.  E. Ezhova (BYU) def. L. Ogata (Nevada) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
6.  L. Tan (Nevada) def. E. Carney (BYU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
1.  Sukova/Miccoli (BYU) def. Mizyuk/Ogata (Nevada) 8-4
2.  Chang/Doerr (BYU) def. Bailly/Dinh (Nevada) 8-2
3.  Hayasaka/Carney (BYU) def. Hall/ Devrye (Nevada) 9-7