Box Score

PROVO, Utah – After enduring five three-set matches and several tie breakers, BYU men’s tennis dropped a tough 4-3 match to New Mexico Friday night at the BYU indoor tennis courts.

“I have to give credit to New Mexico," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "It was a hard-fought, great collegiate match. Unfortunately this one didn’t go our way. We got the doubles point, which was a real positive to start the match. On the flip side, we didn’t get it done in third sets.”

The Cougars (6-5, 0-0 WCC) earned an early edge in doubles play as Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce cruised over Bart Van Leijsen and Dominic West, 6-2. Aidan Carrazedo and Sam Tullis followed with a 6-1 victory at third doubles over Rodolfo Jauregui and Sean Baklini.

Senior Jacob Sullivan battled against Ricky Hernandez-Tong to pull out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory before New Mexico (2-5, 0-0 MWC) fought back to win three consecutive three-set matches. Matthew Pearce and Cullimore fell at fourth and first singles, respectively, while Jeremy Bourgeois dropped his match at the No. 3 slot.

With BYU falling behind, junior John Pearce bested Lawrence Perrin 6-4, 6-4 to come back and tie the match for the Cougars. Tullis then rallied to defeat Jorge Escutia at No. 6 singles but fell in a third-set tie break 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(4).

BYU opens conference play against San Francisco Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5:30 p.m. MST. Live stats and a video stream can be found on the men’s tennis schedule page. 

Results

New Mexico 4, BYU Men's Tennis 3

Singles competition

1. VAN LEIJSEN, Bart (NM) def. CULLIMORE, Keaton (BYU) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
2. SULLIVAN, Jacob (BYU) def. HERNANDEZ-TONG,Ricky (NM) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. JAUREGUI, Rodolfo (NM) def. BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-0)
4. WEST, Dominic (NM) def. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
5. PEARCE, John (BYU) def. PERRIN, Lawrence (NM) 6-4, 6-4
6. ESCUTIA, Jorge (NM) def. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles competition

1. SULLIVAN, Jacob/BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) vs. HERNANDEZ-TONG,Ricky/PERRIN, Lawrence (NM) 3-4, unfinished
2. CULLIMORE, Keaton/PEARCE, John (BYU) def. VAN LEIJSEN, Bart/WEST, Dominic (NM) 6-2
3. CARRAZEDO, Aidan/TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. JAUREGUI, Rodolfo/BAKLINI, Sean (NM) 6-1

Match Notes: Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,1,3,5,6)

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis will host New Mexico on Friday before opening West Coast Conference play against San Francisco at home on Saturday.

After falling short in a close match against in-state rival Utah on Thursday, BYU (6-4, 0-0 WCC) traveled to Boise where the Cougars picked up a 4-2 victory over the Broncos on Saturday. Senior Aidan Carrazedo and freshman Sam Tullis both recorded two wins in the match, teaming up at No. 3 doubles for a win and each defeating their opponents at fifth and sixth singles, respectively, to help BYU secure the victory.

New Mexico (1-5, 0-0 MWC) dropped a close 4-3 match to Cal Poly after battling tough weather conditions last Saturday and Sunday in LA. Last season, the No. 44 Cougars fell 4-3 to the No. 70 Lobos in Albuquerque.

San Francisco (2-3, 0-0 WCC) fell 6-1 to No. 9 USC last Thursday on the road. During last season’s matchup, No. 65 BYU defeated the Dons 4-0 in San Francisco.

Both matches will be held at the BYU indoor tennis courts and will offer free admission and free pizza. The Cougars play New Mexico on Friday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m. MST and San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5:30 p.m. Links to live results and an online video stream can be found here.