Netters Can't Hold On in Tight Match

PROVO -- Despite solid play and home-court advantage, the No. 65 BYU women’s tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 60 Colorado Saturday. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 2-4 on the season.

“We came out strong,” BYU coach Joey Johnson said. “The players fought hard and their attitudes were great.”

BYU won the doubles point in dramatic fashion with a come-from-behind victory at the No. 2 spot to secure the advantage at the outset for the Cougars. Colorado took the first doubles match with an 8-5 victory on court one.

Chie Hayasaka and Elle Carney fought off their opponents at the No. 3 position to earn an 8-5 result. The point came down to Kristina Doerr and Romina Nedakovic who trailed their Buffalo challengers 5-1. The BYU duo came back to win seven straight games and take the match at 8-5.

CU evened things up with Camila Belassi’s 6-3, 6-1 win, but No. 54 McCall Jones put the Cougars ahead again with her straight-set victory on court one. Sophomore Megan Price overcame her Buffalo opponent after a second-set tiebreak and BYU was within one point of their second consecutive win.

“There was a momentum shift at the end and Colorado was able to rally back,” Johnson said.

Doerr won her first set but then lost the second to No. 64 Melisa Esposito. The senior battled in the third but eventually fell 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. The match came down to Nedakovic and Liza Ezhova on courts five and six, respectively. As Nedakovic played her third set, Colorado tied the score at 3-3 with Ania Anuszkiewicz’s straight-set win over Ezhova. The last match was a fight to the finish, but the Buffaloes took it and came away with the close 4-3 win.

“We haven’t had any matches this season where we didn’t play solid tennis,” Johnson said. “This one came down to the wire and I’m proud of the team’s performance.”

Fans can see the Cougars in action again next week when they host No. 55 Denver at noon on Saturday.

Results
No. 65 BYU-3
No. 60 Colorado-4
Doubles
1. Esposito/Belassi (CU) def. No. 18 Jones/Price (BYU) 8-4
2. Doerr/Nedakovic (BYU) def. Milewski/Anuszkiewicz (CU) 8-5
3. Carney/Hayasaka (BYU) def. Jensen/Kern (CU) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. No. 54 M. Jones (BYU) def. No. 90 M. Milewski (CU) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 64 M. Esposito (CU) def. K. Doerr (BYU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. C. Belassi (CU) def. C. Hayasaka (BYU) 6-3, 6-1
4. M. Price (BYU) def. M. Jensen (CU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
5. E. Sanders (CU) def. R. Nedakovic (BYU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. A. Anuszkiewicz (CU) def. L. Ezhova (BYU) 6-2, 6-2 
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5