Three Cougars advance to finals in BYU Invitational

PROVO -- BYU’s Callie Craig and Andie Young will represent the women’s tennis team in the final rounds of singles brackets A and B in the BYU Invitational Saturday morning, followed by Craig and Megan Price seeking Cougar victory in the doubles final.

Playing in her first tournament as a Cougar, No. 4 seed Craig defeated No. 1 seed Alexandra Kovacs of Wyoming in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Until her loss, Kovacs had only lost three games total in the tournament—all three to BYU’s Elle Carney. Craig, a freshman from Orem, Utah, will face Veronica Popovici of Wyoming in the finals.

In bracket B, Andie Young faced Utah State’s Kimmi Watts and pulled away with a straight-set victory. After winning a tiebreaker in the lengthy first set, Young quickly grabbed the win in the second 7-6(3), 6-3. Young—also an Orem, Utah, native—will battle USU’s Taylor Perry Saturday morning.

Three Cougars lost in the quarterfinals Friday morning. Price fell to Popovici and Elle Carney dropped her match to Kovacs. Aubrey Paul lost to teammate Craig.

Doubles action saw Craig and Price in back-to-back victories Friday afternoon. The pair first faced Wyoming’s Sasa Nemcova and Popovici. The Cougars were down 2-3 in the opening games of the match, but winning six consecutive games brought them to an 8-3 victory.

Craig and Price made quick work of their next opponents, beating Julie Tukuafu and Kristina Voytsekhovish of USU 8-1. The Cougars will play Taylor Perry and Jaci West, also of USU, in the final.

Carney and Elizaveta Ezhova also competed in the doubles quarterfinals, but fell to Brianna Harris and Hailey Swenson of USU.

USU had a strong presence in the doubles quarterfinals, with four teams competing Friday. In the semifinals, two USU pairs matched up with Perry and West defeating their teammates. The Aggies’ West made it to the singles semifinals, losing to Popovici. Perry will represent USU in the bracket B singles final.

Wyoming had two teams competing in the doubles quarterfinals as well, but neither advanced. Popovici will represent the Cowgirls in the singles bracket A final.

Both singles finals begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts south of the soccer field. The doubles final begins at 12 p.m. Admission is free and matches are open to the public. Spectators may park in any of the “Y Lot” parking lots. Parking is free all day Saturday.

The collegiate athletes participate as individuals in this tournament while representing their schools.

For more information and results, click here.