PROVO -- The BYU men's tennis team came one step closer to the National Indoor Championships by defeating Boise State 5-2 Friday evening in Boise, Idaho. The Cougars (1-0) will take on San Diego State Saturday afternoon, with the winner advancing to Louisville, Ky. in February for the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championship.
The Cougars began the match by barely winning the doubles point. Gert Vilms and Carlos Lozano lost at the No. 1 spot, but Erik Nyman and Nic Losee picked up the win at the No. 3 spot. The doubles point came down to the No. 2 spot between Jeff Harbach and Jeff Olsen and Boise State's team of Bouvier/Silva. Harbach/Olsen clinched the doubles point for the Cougars by winning the match 9-8 (6).
In singles play, BYU took four of the six matches to seal the victory. Vilms atoned for the doubles loss by winning at the No. 1 singles over Marcus Berntson 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Anton Rujuk came in to win at the No. 5 position 6-3, 6-3, and Nyman and Harbach won at the No. 4 and No. 6 spots, respectively. Lozano and Losee lost at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
The Cougars have no time to rest, with the Aztecs waiting for tomorrow's match. San Diego State defeated New Mexico 6-1 earlier Friday to move them into the finals of the Regional Qualifier.
PROVO -- The BYU men's tennis team faces a tough test this weekend when it plays in Boise, Idaho at the Indoor Region VII Team Championships. The Cougars will face Boise State Friday afternoon, with San Diego State and New Mexico rounding out the four teams at the tournament. The winner of the tournament will advance to the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championship.
In Friday's matchup with Boise State, the Cougars will need to play well to defeat the Broncos. Boise State is led by the big three of Guillaume Bouvier, Marcus Berntson and Mark Roberts. The Cougars, led by Gert Vilms and Carlos Lozano, will need to be at the top of their game to handle Boise State.
"They all have really big serves, so we'll have to return well in order to win," head coach Jim Osborne said. "It's going to come down to who's serving well."
Should the Cougars advance, one of the two Mountain West Conference foes will be waiting. San Diego State is led by the doubles team of Maiberger and Redondo, ranked No. 2 in the nation at the end of the fall season.
"We'll have to play late-season tennis to win," Osborne said. "All four teams at the tournament will move up significantly in the national rankings by the end of the season."
The Cougars won't get a break after this weekend's action. BYU will hit the road, as it will for much of the season, next week to face Oregon and Washington.
