FRESNO -- The BYU men's tennis team struggled to hold on to an early lead Thursday afternoon on the road, falling to Fresno State in a 6-1 decision. The loss drops the Cougars to 1-6 on the season.
BYU gained the advantage early by winning at the No. 1 and 3 spots in doubles to win the first, and only, point for the Cougars. At the first seed for BYU, Erik Nyman and Nima Roshan defeated Greg Shearer and Jakub Chech 8-4. At the No. 3 doubles spot, Alonzo Medina and freshman Chip Hand posted an 8-5 win over Fresno's Charlies Irie and Jure Kekez.
In singles play for the Cougars, Nyman nearly took the second set, while teammates Roshan and Dominik Kaufhold pushed their opponents to three sets.
BYU will travel today to Tuscon to face the Wildcats of Arizona tomorrow at Noon.
BYU 1, Fresno State 6DOUBLES
1) Nyman/Roshan (BYU) def. Shearer/Cech (FS), 8-4
2) Suta/Modoc (FS) def. Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU), 9-8 (2)
3) Medina/Hand (BYU) def. Kekez/Irie (FS), 8-5
(BYU wins doubles point)
SINGLES
1) Greg Shearer (FS) def. #82 Erik Nyman (BYU), 5-7, 6-4, (10-5)
2) Alex Krohn (FS) def. Christian Hand (BYU), 6-1, 6-2
3) Stefan Suta (FS) def. Ivan Kokurin (BYU), 6-0, 6-4
4) Charles Irie (FS) def. Nima Roshan (BYU), 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1
5) Jakub Cech (FS) def. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2
6) Sergiu Modoc (FS) def. Alonso Medina (BYU), 6-3, 6-0
Records: Fresno State (3-4); BYU (1-6)
PROVO -- The 68th-ranked BYU men's tennis team looks to end its four-match losing streak as it heads back on the road to face the No. 37 Bulldogs of Fresno State on Thursday followed by a tough match-up against No. 38 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday.
BYU aims to avenge its loss against Fresno after coming up short in 2003 in a 4-3 decision. The Bulldogs, however, are also coming off of a four-match losing streak after dropping their last two on the road to Rice and Arizona. The Bulldogs are 2-4 on the season, while the Cougars are 1-4 and searching for redemption.
Arizona holds a 4-1 record this season coming off a win over No. 63. UC Santa Barbara. The Wildcats are led by senior Tom Lloyd (No. 86) while the Cougars look to No. 80-ranked Eric Nyman for a win over the Cats.
Junior Jose Lechuga and senior Richard Dasek are both on the injured list for BYU. Lechuga's broken ankle will most likely cause him to miss the remainder of the season. Dasek ended play early on last week's road trip complaining of upper back and neck pains.
Without Dasek and Lechuga in the line-up, head coach Brad Pearce has made some adjustments for doubles and singles. Playing in the No. 2 singles spot, where Dasek usually plays, will be freshman Chip Hand. In doubles, Nyman will play along side Nima Roshan (22 in doubles with Lechuga) at the No. 1 doubles spot.
The Cougars will be home next week as they play host to Boise State Friday February 20 at 6:00 p.m.
