STANFORD -- The 59th-ranked BYU men's tennis (7-7) lost to the sixth-ranked Cardinals of Stanford 7-0 on Wednesday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center. This is the second straight match that the Cougars have been blanked by a top 10 team.
Stanford came into the match boasting an impressive 12-2 record. They currently have four singles players that are nationally ranked in the top 60 and two doubles teams that are ranked in the top 30.
"This has been a pretty tough week, having lost both of our matches 7-0," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "But the only way our team is going to get better is to keep playing great teams."
In the match, the Cougars were unable to win a single set in either singles or doubles. Erik Nyman played 64th-ranked Scott Lipsky tough at the No. 1 singles spot, but lost 6-4, 7-6. In doubles, the Cougars nearly won at the No. 3 spot when Alonso Medina and Jeff Olsen pushed Joe Kao and Phil Sheng to an 8-8 tie, but the Cardinals edged the Cougar tandem and won 9-8.
The Cougars are back in action this weekend as they continue their long road trip. They will be in Boise, Idaho to play No. 51 Boise State on Friday and No. 50 Fresno State on Saturday.
#6 Stanford 7, #59 BYU 0Singles
1 - #64 Scott Lipsky (S) def. Erik Nyman, 6-4, 7-6
2 - #12 David Martin (S) def. Carlos Lozano, 6-1, 6-1
3 - #53 KC Corkery (S) def. Jose Luis Lechuga, 6-1, 6-3
4 - #57 Sam Warburg (S) def. Alonso Medina, 6-1, 6-2
5 - James Pade (S) def. Jeff Olsen, 6-4, 6-2
6 - Carter Morris (S) def. Anton Rudjuk, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles (Stanford wins point)
1 - #4 Lipsky/Martin (S) def. #18 Lozano/Nyman, 8-5
2 - #27 Corkery/Pade (S) def. Lechuga/Rudjuk, 8-3
3 - Kao/Sheng (S) def. Medina/Olsen, 9-8
PROVO -- The 59th ranked BYU men's tennis team (7-4) will be on the road this week in California and Idaho as they take on No. 8 Stanford on Wednesday, No. 51 Boise State on Friday and No. 50 Fresno State on Saturday.
"This is going to be a very challenging week for us," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "We are going to play some great teams. This will give us all a chance to see just we're made of."
BYU is coming off a tough loss to No. 5 California on Monday. The Bears swept the Cougars 7-0, winning every match except at the No. 1 doubles position. Cougars Erik Nyman and Carlos Lozano defeated Steve Berke and John Paul Fruttero 8-6.
The Cardinals of Stanford come into Wednesday's match having won its last six matches. They currently have four players ranked in the top 70 in the nation in singles, as well as two doubles teams ranked in the top 30. They have an 11-2 record.
After the match with Stanford, BYU will be traveling to Boise where they will take on BSU and FSU. The Broncos of BSU currently have a 10-6 record and are coming off big wins over South Alabama and Notre Dame. BSU recently jumped from No. 68 to No. 51 in the rankings and are looking to improve their ranking with a win over BYU.
The Bulldogs of FSU have won six of their last nine matches and have already passed their win total from last season, with a 9-6 overall record. Fresno State is 3-2 in March despite playing five ranked opponents.
"All the teams we face this week are tough and very competitive," said Osborne. "We usually face them each year and they always come ready to play. We just need to work on the things we've been working on in practice and focus one each match, one at a time."
After this long road trip, the Cougars will be at home next weekend to begin conference play as the face Utah on Thursday, San Diego State on Friday and UNLV on Saturday. All three matches will begin at noon.
