Women's Tennis Opens Conference Play

PROVO -- For the first time this season, the BYU women’s tennis team will face a Mountain West Conference opponent. The Cougars travel to Salt Lake to take on in-state rival No. 46 Utah Saturday at noon.

“It’s always a fun rivalry match to have every year,” BYU coach Joey Johnson said. “The team’s very excited.”

Last week, BYU fell to Louisville and No. 18 Arizona State on the road. The Cougars are 4-9 on the season with one ranked singles player and one ranked doubles team. McCall Jones comes in at the No. 53 spot in singles. She and Megan Price are the No. 26 duo in the country.

“Utah’s had a good record this year and good results,” Johnson said. “That makes it an opportunity for us to get a good win.”

Utah swept Loyola Marymount Tuesday to improve to 8-6 on the year. When the two teams met in conference play last season, BYU won 5-2 in Provo. Players from both schools competed in the fall at the BYU Invitational, hosted by the Cougars. Kristina Doerr, Jones and Price all recorded wins against Ute opponents.

“We’re moving into crunch time with conference matches,” Johnson said. “There is a bit of a mindset shift in conference play. We’re in the home stretch.”

Saturday’s matchup begins at noon at the Eccles Tennis Center in Salt Lake.