STOCKTON, Calif. – In a West Coast Conference matchup on Friday, the BYU women’s tennis team pulled out a 4-3 victory over Pacific at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.

“It was a hot day in Northern California and I am proud of the way we battled and fought through," said BYU head coach Holly Parkinson Halser. "Pacific is a steady team that made us play a lot of balls, and the girls kept fighting until the end. This was a great warm up and confidence builder for a match against St. Mary’s tomorrow, an even tougher opponent."

Junior Polina Malykh extended her lengthy winning streak to 14 matches with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles over Pacific’s Maya Lopez. Sophomore Anastasia Abramyan also extended a winning streak, notching her second in a row over the Tigers’ Anneroos Nederstigt, 7-5, 7-5, at the No. 1 position.

BYU is now 11-9 overall and 4-4 in conference while Pacific falls to  4-13, 1-7.

The Cougars took a commanding lead, downing Pacific in all three doubles matches. At No. 1, Abramyan and Kate Cusick defeated Nederstigt and Ioana Pepescu, 6-2 while BYU’s Madeline Almeida and Malykh defeated their opponents, Karina Vyrlan and Anna Ramos-Vinolas, with the same score in No. 2 doubles. Taylah Beckman and Samantha Smith beat Lopez and Sabrina Rodriguez, 6-2.

Madeline Almeida won the final match for the Cougars. After falling in the second set to Ramos-Vinolas, Almeida came back to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in No. 3 singles.

In the other singles matches BYU's Cusick fell to Pacific’s Vyrlan 1-6, 5-7 at the No. 2 spot. The Cougars’ Beckman lost in a tight three-set match, 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, to Georgia Townsend at No. 5 while Smith lost to the Tigers’ Popescu, 5-7, 5-7, in No. 6 singles.

The Cougars compete in their final regular season match against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m. at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex.

Doubles

1. Anastasia Abramyan/Kate Cusick (BYU) def. Anneroos Nederstigt/Ioana Popescu (PAC) 6-2
2. Madeline Almeida/Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Karina Vyrlan/Anna Ramos-Vinolas (PAC) 6-2
3. Taylah Beckman/Samantha Smith (BYU) def. Maya Lopez/Sabrina Rodriguez (PAC) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles

1. Anastasia Abramyan (BYU) def. Anneroos Nederstigt (PAC) 7-5, 7-5
2. Karina Vyrlan (PAC) def. Kate Cusick (BYU) 6-1, 7-5
3. Polina Malykh (BYU) def. Maya Lopez (PAC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Madeline Almeida (BYU) def. Anna Ramos-Vinolas (PAC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
5. Georgia Townsend (PAC) def. Taylah Beckman (BYU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
6. Ioana Popescu (PAC) def. Samantha Smith (BYU) 7-5, 7-5

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 5

PROVO, Utah – After a weekend home, the BYU women’s tennis team travels to California for its last two regular-season West Coast Conference matchups versus Pacific and Saint Mary’s.

The Cougars face off against the Tigers on Friday, April 19, at 12 p.m. PDT at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center. BYU will then take on Saint Mary’s on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m. PDT at the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex.

BYU
The Cougars (10-9, 3-4) went 0-2 last weekend, suffering losses against Loyola Marymount and No. 8 Pepperdine. Junior Polina Malykh kept her singles winning streak alive, notching her 13th victory in a row against Loyola Marymount, while sophomore Anastasia Abramyan upset No. 84 ranked Adrijana Lekaj of Pepperdine.

Pacific
The Tigers also suffered two losses in a row last weekend. Gonzaga swept Pacific 4-0, while Portland took a 4-1 victory over the Tigers. Their overall record for the season is 4-12 with a 1-6 WCC standing. The Cougars hold a 4-1 all-time advantage over Pacific, winning in their last three appearances.

Saint Mary’s
The Gaels split last weekend, 1-1, first taking a sweep over Portland and then losing 0-4 to Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s maintains a 9-9, 5-2 standing for the season, and has one singles and one doubles team nationally ranked. BYU took a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Gaels in their regular season matchup during the 2017-18 season.

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