Result Favors BYU in Close Opening Match

PULLMAN -- After more than seven hours on the court, the No. 64 BYU women’s tennis team walked away with its first win of the season Friday. The Cougars staved off Washington State to earn the 4-3 victory.

“It was a good start,” BYU coach Joey Johnson said. “We’re excited that it ended on a great note.”

Kristina Doerr and Romina Nedakovic recorded the first win of the day, an 8-5 result in doubles. No. 18 McCall Jones and Megan Price also won their match to secure the doubles point for BYU. Washington State was able to claw out one pairs win, a 9-8 victory on court three.

In singles, each squad took one match to start putting the score at 2-1. WSU then recorded two consecutive wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions to come within just one point of the win. Nedakovic defeated her opponent in straight sets to even things up and put the match in the hands of Price.

“It was a competitive match,” Johnson said. “We had to step up and face some pressure situations. Washington State played very well.”

The sophomore, who lost the first set, fought to a 7-6 scoreline in the second. With the result hinging on her performance, Price was able to take the third set 6-4 and clinch the win for the Cougars.

“A close match gets you into gear,” Johnson said. “I feel optimistic that we will be ready for Saturday.”

BYU will continue play Saturday in Seattle as they face No. 24 Washington. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

BYU-4
WSU-3
Doubles
1. No. 18 Jones/Price (BYU) def. Vasilieva/Fournier (WSU) 9-7
2. Doerr/Nedakovic (BYU) def. Kankaras/Nicolas (WSU) 8-5
3. Gomez/Googe (WSU) def. Hayasaka/Paul (BYU) 9-8 (7-5)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. L. Vasilieva (WSU) def. M. Jones (BYU) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
2. E. Fournier (WSU) def. K. Doerr (BYU) 6-3, 6-4
3. C. Hayasaka (BYU) def. M. Nicolas (WSU) 7-6, 6-2
4. K. Googe (WSU) def. E. Ezhova (BYU) 6-0, 6-4
5. M. Price (BYU) def. A. Kankaras (WSU) 5-7, 7-6, 6-4
6. R. Nedakovic (BYU) def. J. Gomez (WSU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 5