No. 11 WT Drops 2022 Season Opener

The No. 11 Baylor Women’s Tennis team opened the 2022 season with a 4-3 loss against BYU in Day One of the Bella the Ball Collegiate Invitational in Las Vegas.

The Cougars scored first, notching the doubles point with a victory at No. 3 after Anastasia Abramyan and Yujia Huang defeated Alicia Herrero and Isabella Harvison, 6-3. Emilee Astle and Kara Lin clinched the point at doubles No. 1 with a 6-3 win over Baylor’s Paula Barañano and Ana Carmen Zamburek.

The No. 2 pair of Bears Alina Shcherbinina and Anita Sahdiieva finished doubles play on a 7-6 tiebreak over Leah Heimuli and Jacque Dunyon.

The Cougars and Bears traded singles victories with BYU recording their second point at the No. 3 position following Anastasia Abramyan’s 6-1, 6-3 win over Herrero.

Barañano gave the Bears their first point after beating Astle, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 5 slot.

No. 1 Harvison fell to Heimuli for a 6-3, 6-4 score, but nationally-ranked No. 97 Shcherbinina fought back through a tiebreak at No. 2 singles to win 7-5, 6-4 against Dunyon.

With the match on the line, BYU’s Madison Smith secured the Cougars’ victory by defeating Zamburek 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 6 position.

Baylor earned their third and final point with No. 4 Sahdiieva’s three-set 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 win over Huang.

The Bears will challenge Illinois in Day Two of the Bella the Ball Collegiate Invitational tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. (CT).