PROVO, Utah (Jan, 24, 2009) –Another upset was not in the cards for the No. 47 women’s tennis team. No. 38 Washington handed the Cougars their first home loss of the season 6-1. With the defeat, BYU fell to 1-2 on the season while the Huskies improved to 2-0.

"We met the challenge for the most part," BYU head coach Craig Manning said. "We just backed down at crucial times and that made the difference."

Sophomore Kristina Doerr and freshman Romina Nedakovic repeated Friday’s doubles performance, winning 8-3 on court two. A last-minute lineup change left sophomore Elle Carney and freshman Kourtney Young playing together for the first time at the No. 3 position. The pair was down 6-2 and tried to mount a comeback but eventually fell 8-4.

The doubles point came down to freshmen McCall Jones and Megan Price on court one. The duo went back-and-forth with Washington’s Venise Chan and Denise Dy, winning two games in a row to tie the score at six. But the Huskies were able to pull out the win in the end, earning a 9-7 victory.

"Washington is a very good team; they never stopped coming after us," Manning said.

Singles play brought more challenges for the Cougars with Price and Jones dropping their matches on courts four and one respectively. With four matches remaining, the Huskies needed just one more point to secure the win.

Doerr, who lost the first set 6-4, looked poised to take the second. She was on the verge of tying the score at five all when a long ball gave Washington’s Denise Dy the victory and clinched the match for the Huskies.

The Cougars’ lone point came after impressive play by Nedakovic on court three. The freshman showed her mental toughness after losing the first set and coming back to claim the second. She closed out the match, winning 6-3 in the third.

"Romina never stopped fighting," Manning said. "That's what we want to do as a team."

Despite BYU’s efforts, the Huskies wrapped up the match with two more wins at positions five and six to make the final score 6-1.

The Cougars will be back in action at home next week taking on Utah State Friday at 3 p.m.

Results

Brigham Young University- 1

University of Washington- 6

Jan. 24, 2009

Doubles:

1. Chan/Dy (UW) def. Jones/Price (BYU) 9-7

2. Doerr/Nedakovic (BYU) def. Ardies/Smith (UW) 8-3

3. Malovic/Xu (UW) def. Carney/Young (BYU) 8-4

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

Washington wins the doubles point

Singles:

1. V. Chan (UW) def. M. Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-4

2. D. Dy (UW) def. K. Doerr (BYU) 6-4, 6-4*

3. R. Nedakovic (BYU) L. Xu (UW) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

4. S. Smith (UW) def. M. Price (BYU) 6-3, 6-2

5. J. Ardies (UW) def. E. Carney (BYU) 6-1, 6-2

6. A. Malovic (UW) def. L. Ezhova (BYU) 6-1, 6-0

* denotes clinching match—Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 6, 5

PROVO -- Coming off a tough loss to No. 33 South Carolina, the No. 47 BYU women’s tennis team will hosts its first matches of the season this weekend. The Cougars will open play at home against No. 44 Washington State Friday and No. 38 Washington.

“Our practice this week has been outstanding,” BYU coach Craig Manning said. “I’m excited for this weekend.”

Washington State is returning to play after a 7-0 sweep of Weber State to start the season.

Washington also kicked off its season last week with a 7-0 sweep of Portland and includes No. 28 Venise Chan.

Last season, both teams edged out the Cougars 4-3 on the road, but BYU did show its strength in pairs play winning the doubles point against Washington and Washington State.

“The pieces are falling into place,” Manning said. “Things will be great; we just need time.”

Friday’s match begins at 11 a.m. and play on Saturday starts at noon. Admission to the matches is free and the team will provide free pizza and prizes for fans. BYU “Y Lot” parking lots are available to the public after 4 p.m. Friday and all day Saturday.