Cougars Fall to No. 29 Utah, 4-3

PULLMAN, Wash. – Utah captured the crucial opening doubles point then held on with three singles victories as the No. 29 Utes defeated Washington State 4-3 in a Pac-12 Conference match Sunday morning at the Simmelink Tennis Courts.
 
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 5-9 overall, 1-3 in Pac-12 play. Utah improves to 13-3, 2-2.
 
Doubles began the day and the Cougar duo of Savanna Ly-Nguyen and Elyse Tse made quick work of Lindsay Hung and Madeline Lamoreaux, winning 6-1 at No. 3. On Court 2, WSU's Yang Lee and Fifa Kumhom fought back from 1-4 down to make it close, but Utah's Linda Huang and Madison Tattini came away with the 6-4 win, leaving the doubles point to Court 1. There, Utah's Anastasia Goncharova and Emily Dush, the nation's 54th-ranked duo, came back from 2-4 down to prevail in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5), over Michaela Bayerlova and Maxine Murphy to give Utah the 1-0 lead.
 
In singles action, Bayerlova had no trouble in rolling past Huang, the nation's 97th-ranked player, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1. Utah regained the lead at 2-1 when Goncharova finished a 6-2, 7-5 win over Kumhom at No. 4.
 
Utah pushed its lead to 3-1 following Hung's 7-6 (2), 6-3 win at No. 3 over Murphy before Tattini clinched the victory with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Tse at No. 5.
 
The remaining two matches were played out as Ly-Nguyen escaped with a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Dush. The victory completed a marathon weekend for the senior, who also defeated Colorado Friday in three sets to clinch WSU's win over the Buffs. In the final match, Lee held on for a 6-2, 6-4 win over Anya Lamoreaux at No. 6.
 
The Cougars are next in action Friday when they travel to Spokane to face Gonzaga. Match time is set for Noon.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 29 Utah 4 def. Washington State 3
March 13, 2022
Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse
Pullman, Wash.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 #54 Anastasia Goncharova/Emily Dush (UU) def. Michaela Bayerlova/Maxine Murphy (WSU) 7-6 (5)
No. 2 Linda Huang/Madison Tattini (UU) def. Yang Lee/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-4
No. 3 Savanna Ly-Nguyen/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Lindsay Hung/Madeline Lamoreaux (UU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
 
SINGLES
No. 1 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. #97 Linda Huang (UU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Emily Dush (UU) 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3
No. 3 Lindsay Hung (UU) def. Maxine Murphy (WSU) 7-6 (2), 6-3
No. 4 Anastasia Goncharova (UU) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-2, 7-5
No. 5 Madison Tattini (UU) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 Yang Lee (WSU) def. Anya Lamoreaux (UU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,4,3,5,2,6