PROVO, Utah — BYU men's tennis won their third straight match Friday, defeating Air Force 6-1 at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.

"It was nice to play Air Force Academy," BYU head coach Dave Porter said. "They're a quality team, they're gentlemen, they play hard and they never give up. I felt like we did some very good things today, and a little better in some ways than last week, and that's the goal is to get a little better every week. We're excited and look forward to going to UNLV next weekend."

The Cougars got off to a good start, quickly earning the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Jack Barnett and Ben Gajardo beat Paul Hendrix and Jamie Bautista, handily in the 1 slot, 6-3. Tight early, Sean Hill and Sam Tullis pulled away to earn a 6-3 win over Justin Waldman and Jonathan Mascagini in the 3 slot, clinching the doubles point for BYU.

Hill dominated at No. 1 singles, beating Hendrix, 6-1, 6-2. After getting down early, Mateo Vereau Melendez rallied to win 7-5, 7-5, at No. 4 singles. Tullis fought hard at No. 2 singles, but suffered a tough 6-7 (8), 6-7 (5) loss, bringing the match score to 3-1, BYU, with three matches remaining. 

At No. 2 singles, Gajardo beat Waldman in a tight one, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, earning the win for the Cougars. Moments later, Matheus Ferreira Leite earned a win at No. 5 singles, beating Jordan Azuma, 6-4, 6-2. In his first match this season, Vinicius Feijao Nogueira beat Sean McKendree 6-3, 7-5, for a win at No. 6 singles, giving BYU a 6-1 victory. 

The Cougars will hit the road next weekend, visiting UNLV at the Frank & Vicki Fertitta Tennis Complex on Saturday, March 20, at 11 a.m. PDT.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 6 Air Force 1

Doubles Competition

1. Jack Barnett/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Paul Hendrix/Jamie Bautista (AFA), 6-3

2. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) vs. Robert Baylon/Jordan Azuma (AFA), 3-5, uf.

3. Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Justin Waldman/Jonathan Mascagini (AFA), 6-3

Order of finish: (1, 3)

Singles Competition

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Paul Hendrix (AFA), 6-1, 6-2

2. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Justin Waldman (AFA), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

3. Jonathan Mascagni (AFA) def. Sam Tullis (BYU), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5)

4. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU) def. Robert Baylon (AFA), 7-5, 7-5

5. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU) def. Jordan Azuma (AFA), 6-4, 6-2

6. Vinicius Feijao Nogueira (BYU) def. Sean McKendree (AFA), 6-3, 7-5

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

PROVO, Utah — After going 2-0 last weekend with dominant wins over Montana and Santa Clara, BYU men's tennis looks to continue their win streak as they host Air Force this week at the Indoor Tennis Courts on Friday, March 12, at 2 p.m. MST. 

BYU Notes (5-4, 1-0 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 5-4, most recently sweeping Montana, 7-0, and beating Santa Clara, 5-2, last weekend
• BYU has wins over Grand Canyon, Weber State, Idaho State, Montana and Santa Clara. The Cougars four losses were at Oregon (twice), to New Mexico at home and at Utah State. 
• The Cougars are led by seniors Sean Hill and Ben Gajardo, who each have eight singles wins on the season, and have won their last five singles matches
• Senior Sam Tullis and Matheus Ferreira Leite have both won their last four singles matches
• Doubles pairs Sean Hill/Sam Tullis and Jack Barnett/Ben Gajardo have won their last two doubles matches

Head Coach - Dave Porter

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1975
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 5-4 (1st Season)
• Record at BYU: Same

BYU Doubles Records

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

BYU Singles Records

• Sean Hill (8-1)
• Ben Gajardo (8-1)
• Sam Tullis (6-3)
• Matheus Ferreira Leite (4-1)
• Dominik Jakovljevic (4-5)
• Jack Barnett (2-2)
• Mateo Vereau Melendez (2-6)
• Alex Lin (0-1)

Air Force Notes (2-3, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)

• The Falcons are 2-3, with their most recent win coming at Omaha, 4-3, on Feb. 20
• Air Force has wins over Metro State and Omaha. The Falcons' losses are to Denver (twice) and Creighton.
• When the two teams meet, Air Force will have had nearly two weeks off due to the postponement of a match with Army, scheduled for last weekend. The Cougars had a similar break going into their match at Utah State two weekends ago, on Feb. 27.
• The Falcons returned 10 letterwinners from last season and also welcomed three freshmen this season
• The last meeting between BYU and Air Force was on Feb. 22, 2019. The Cougars swept the Falcons, 7-0. BYU leads the all-time series, 18-1.

Head Coach - Dan Oosterhous

• Alma Mater: Air Force, 1993
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 115-146 (12th Season)
• Record at Air Force: Same

Match Information - March 12

• Time: 2 p.m. MST
• Live Stream: BYU Tennis Live Cam
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast