Tennis Closes Out Region Championship

SALT LAKE -- The Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Central Region Championship ended Saturday for the BYU women’s tennis team. Cougars Kristina Doerr and McCall Jones advanced to the Round of 16 in the singles competition before being eliminated.

Junior Doerr beat Kansas State’s Antea Huljev to secure a spot in the final 16 against Nebraska’s Wiveca Swarting. Doerr won the first set 6-4, but Swarting came back to take the second and third and clinch the victory. Jones defeated her Kansas opponent in the Round of 32 before falling to the tournament’s No. 6 seed Ola Abou-Zerky in straight sets.

“We had some amazing matches,” BYU coach Craig Manning said. “We’ve got a lot of good things going on.”

Manning said the team played good tennis, but there is room for improvement.

“I’m happy with where we are. We’ve got a huge amount of talent,” Manning said. “We just need to work on a couple of specific skills.”

The Cougars will next have the chance to use those skills when they travel to the Matador Invitational Nov. 7.

For final results from the regional tournament, click here.

In Las Vegas, the men’s team also concluded its regional competition Saturday with strong doubles play from the Cougars. BYU duo Cassidy Mears and Thomas Shubert made it to the semifinals of the doubles draw while sophomores Evan Urbina and A.J. Young made it to the quarterfinals.

Denver pair Andrew Landwerlen and Martin Zimmerman ended the Cougars’ hopes of having a team in the finals after defeating both remaining BYU pairs. The DU twosome beat Urbina and Young 8-6 before edging out Mears and Shubert 9-7.

“It was a worthwhile and great tournament for us,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “We performed well overall.”

Pearce said the team would need to focus on consistency as it moves forward in the fall season.

“It’s a great opportunity to see how we’ll work with our guys collectively and individually over the next couple of months,” Pearce said.

The men’s team will resume play Nov. 5 at the So Cal Intercollegiate Tournament in Los Angeles.

For final results from the regional tournament, click here.