PROVO, Utah – Maria Biryukova held off match point in the third set and won the tiebreaker as Washington State defeated No. 54 Brigham Young, 4-3, at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts Thursday afternoon.
Despite dropping the first set 2-6 to Toby Miclat at No. 2 singles, Biryukova found her form in the second, tying the match with an easy 6-1 effort. Biryukova, facing match point in the third, battled back to defeat Miclat in the tiebreak 7-4, rounding off a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) victory and the team win.
Earlier in the day, Washington State (12-8) started the upset by claiming the doubles point in convincing fashion. At No. 2, Biryukova and Nastia Vasyukhina had little trouble with Savannah Ware and Erica Valimaki, quickly posting a 6-1 win. Elizaveta Luzina and Lize Leenknecht at No. 1 doubles followed the trend and put WSU on the board, clinching the doubles point easily with a 6-2 victory over Miclat and Brittanie Eraso. At No. 3 doubles, Victoria Matejevic and Donika Bashota led 5-2 over Meghan Sheehan-Dizon and Morgan Anderson before play was stopped. The doubles loss for BYU marks the first time in its last eight matches it trailed heading into singles, five of which were against ranked teams.
In singles play, the two teams battled back-and-forth swapping wins all day.
Brigham Young quickly got on the board as Ware defeated Leeknecht, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. WSU regained the lead as Bashota at No. 5 rolled over Valimaki 6-1, 6-0 for her 27th victory on the year. The victory ties the freshman for eighth on the single-season victory list with Biryukova (2014) and Luidmila Vasilieva (2010).
At No.1 singles, Luzina outdueled Sheehan-Dizon, 7-6 (2), in a first set tiebreaker to capture an early lead. Luzina had no trouble in the second set clinching the match 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.
No. 6 Holly Monahan and No. 4 Matejevic both suffered tough losses as Matejevic fell 6-4, 7-5 to Ware, while Monahan fell in three sets to Eraso, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Washington State travels to Salt Lake City to square off against Pac-12 opponent Utah, Friday March 27. Play is scheduled to start at 12:30 PT.
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
Mar 26, 2015 at BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts
Washington State University 4 def. #54 Brigham Young 3
Singles:
1. Elizaveta Luzina (WSU) def. Meg Sheehan-Dizon (BYU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
2. Maria Biryukova (WSU) def. Toby Miclat (BYU) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Savannah Ware (BYU) def. Lize Leenknecht (WSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Morgan Anderson (BYU) def. Victoria Matejevic (WSU) 6-4, 7-5
5. Donika Bashota (WSU) def. Erica Valimaki (BYU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Brittanie Eraso (BYU) def. Holly Monahan (WSU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-2
Order of finish: 3,5,4,1,6,2
Doubles:
1. Elizaveta Luzina/Lize Leenknecht (WSU) def. Toby Miclat/Brittanie Eraso (BYU) 6-2
2. Maria Biryukova/Nastia Vasyukhina (WSU) def. Savannah Ware/Erica Valimaki (BYU) 6-1
3. Donika Bashota/Victoria Matejevic (WSU) vs. Meg. Sheehan-Dizon/Morgan Anderson (BYU) 5-2
Order of finish: 2,1
--wsucougars.com--
