Women's Tennis Falls in Close Match

FORT WORTH -- A close match against No. 28 TCU ended in the first conference loss of the season for the No. 57 BYU women’s tennis team. With the loss, the squad falls to 11-7 on the season and 4-1 in conference play.

“We fought as hard as we could,” BYU coach Craig Manning said. “It’s tough to beat a team ranked thirty spots ahead of you at their home courts.”

The Cougars earned the doubles point after three close matches. McCall Jones and Kristina Doerr notched a huge win over the No. 24 pair in the country on court one. BYU recorded an 8-6 win at the No. 2 position to secure the point. On court three, Liza Ezhova and Romina Nedakovic dropped a close match, also 8-6.

“We played great doubles at one and two,” Manning said.

TCU evened the score with a win by No. 86 Macall Harkins over BYU’s Jones. The Horned Frogs then pulled ahead with straight-set victories on courts three and six. Price kept the Cougars’ hopes alive with a win over TCU’s Gaby Mastromarino at the No. 4 position.

The final points came down to three-set matches on courts two and five. The Cougars needed to win at both positions to earn the victory. TCU was able to overpower BYU at the No. 2 position to clinch the match, but Ezhova kept things close, recording a win and a point for the Cougars.

“As a whole, everybody gave their best effort,” Manning said. “Today, it wasn’t enough, but hopefully we’ll play them again in the conference championship. I’d love the chance to play them again.”

The team will resume conference play next week, hosting in-state rival Utah in Provo.

Match Results
#28 TCU- 4 
#57 BYU- 3
Doubles 
1. McCall Jones/Kristina Doerr (BYU) def. #24 Macall Harkins/Anna Sydorska (TCU) 8-6
2. Megan Price/Elle Carney (BYU) def. Kayla Duncan/Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) 8-6
3. Maria Babanova/Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Romina Nedakovic/Elizaveta Ezhova (BYU) 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles 
1. #86 Macall Harkins (TCU) def. #96 McCall Jones (BYU) 6-0, 6-4
2. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Kristina Doerr (BYU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Kayla Duncan (TCU) def. Chie Hayasaka (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Megan Price (BYU) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Elizaveta Ezhova (BYU) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Anna Sydorska (TCU) def. Elle Carney (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 4, 2, 5