EUGENE, Ore. – BYU men’s tennis suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Oregon, 5-2, in the first match of a two-match series at the UO Student Tennis Center Friday.

"I'm disappointed about the outcome, but we learned a lot by playing the match today," BYU head coach Dave Porter said. "Oregon has a solid team. We did some things very well, and we didn't step up when it counted in certain situations. We're hoping to learn from that and play better tomorrow. This is a wonderful trip for us to both get to sea level and to learn about what we do in certain situations, and I think we learned a lot today. I also want to congratulate Sean Hill, who had a great win against a highly ranked singles player, so that's a good win for Sean. Ben played a very solid match and we played some good doubles, we just missed some opportunities."

After Mateo Vereau Melendez and Matheus Ferreira Leite were swept by Joshua Charlton and Brandon Lam at No. 1 doubles, the Cougars (2-1) looked poised to earn the doubles point over the Ducks (1-0). BYU held leads at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, but Oregon came rallying back, forcing tiebreakers on both courts.

Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo kept BYU alive with a 7-6 (6) win in the No. 2 slot over Luke and Quinn Vandecasteele, but Sean Hill and Jack Barnett fell short at the No. 3 slot, losing 6-7 (11) in the tiebreaker to Emmanuel Coste and Jesper Klov-Nilsson, and yielding the doubles point to the Ducks.

Oregon continued their dominance in singles play. At No. 3 singles, the Ducks’ Q. Vandecasteele defeated Vereau Melendez, 6-1, 6-2. Klov-Nilsson quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles over Dominik Jakovljevic. L. Vandecasteele then beat Tullis at No. 4 singles, 7-5, 6-2.

Gajardo ended Oregon’s bid for a sweep with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles over Ryoma Matsushita. The Ducks got back in the win column when 76th ranked Coste beat Barnett at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. 98th ranked Hill closed the match with a win for BYU, upsetting Oregon’s 30th ranked Charlton, 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (5).

The Cougars will remain in Eugene to play the second match of their two-match series with Oregon tomorrow, Jan. 30, at 12 p.m. PST. The match can be watched via live stream, and live stats will also be available.  

MATCH RESULTS

Oregon 5, BYU 2

Doubles

1. Joshua Charlton/Brandon Lam (UO) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU), 6-0

2. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Luke Vandecasteele/Quinn Vandecasteele (UO), 7-6 (6)

3. Emmanuel Coste/Jesper Klov-Nilsson (UO) def. Sean Hill/Jack Barnett (BYU), 7-6 (11)

Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)

Singles

1. #98 Sean Hill (BYU) def. #30 Joshua Charlton (UO), 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (5)

2. #76 Emmanuel Coste (UO) def. Jack Barnett (BYU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

3. Quinn Vandecasteele (UO) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU), 6-1, 6-2

4. Luke Vandecasteele (UO) def. Sam Tullis (BYU), 7-5, 6-2

5. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Ryoma Matsushita (UO), 6-4, 6-4

6. Jesper Klov-Nilsson (UO) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU), 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: (3, 6, 4, 5, 2, 1)

PROVO, Utah — BYU men's tennis will head to Eugene this weekend for a two-match series against the Ducks. This is the Cougars’ (2-0) second match in a row where they face an opponent playing their first match of the season. 

The first match will be at 3 p.m. PST on Friday, Jan. 29, and the second match will take place at 12 p.m. PST the following day, Saturday, Jan. 30. Both matches will be streamed live.

In the 6-1 victory over Weber State last weekend, doubles pairs Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo and Sean Hill/Jack Barnett earned their second wins of the season. Hill, Barnett, Tullis, Gajardo, and Dominik Jakovljevic each earned their second singles wins against the Wildcats.

Doubles Records

1. Mateo Vereau Melendez & Matheus Ferreira Leite (1-1)
2. Sam Tullis & Ben Gajardo (2-0)
3. Sean Hill & Jack Barnett (2-0)

Singles Records

1. Sean Hill (2-0)
2. Jack Barnett (2-0)
3. Mateo Vereau Melendez (0-1)
4. Sam Tullis (2-0)
5. Ben Gajardo (2-0)
6. Dominik Jakovljevic (2-0)
7. Matheus Ferreira Leite (0-1)

Oregon returns six players with 2019-2020 season experience and welcomes two freshmen to the team. The Ducks finished 11-5 in the COVID shortened season last year.

Both matches will be played at Oregon’s Student Tennis Center. In accordance will local health protocols, no fans will be allowed to attend.

Match Information – January 29

• Time: 3 p.m. PST
• Live Stream: Oregon Men’s Tennis Live Stream 
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Match Information – January 30

• Time: 12 p.m. PST
• Live Stream: Oregon Men’s Tennis Live Stream 
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast