Tough Loss at Home

PROVO -- The BYU men's tennis team struggled to find a much-needed win at home as they hosted the Broncos of Boise State, falling in a 6-1 decision in the second of only three home matches this season. The loss moves the Cougars to 1-8 on the season.

Unable to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars, No. 1 duo Erik Nyman and Nima Roshan battled back and forth against Boise's Guillaume Bouvier and Thomas Schoeck, but failed to close the deal losing 8-5.

Fighting at the No. 2 and 3 spots for BYU were duos: Dominik Kaufhold and Ivan Kokurin, and Alonzo Medina and Chip Hand. Hand and Medina led the entire match only to fall in the final moments 8-6.

In a crowd pleaser, Nyman took care of Boise's top seeded Bouvier in two sets, coming from behind in the second to post a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Nyman's win scored the first point for the Cougars.

"I was really glad to see Erik win his match," head coach Brad Pearce. "Erik has really done well this year. He's played a lot of top players, but his win tonight was a real highlight for us."

At the Nos. 2 and 4 spots Chip Hand and Roshan began their matches strong but both suffered defeats in two sets.

Playing at the No. 5 position, freshman Tim Bradshaw pushed Mahmoud Rezk, of Egypt, to a two set tiebreaker. Bradshaw lost the tiebreaker.

In the final match of the evening, Kaufhold fought from being down 4-1 and came back to force a another tiebreaker against Boise's James Ludlow, of Salt Lake City. Ludlow won the final set, giving the Broncos the 6-1 win.

"We played with a lot of heart today," Pearce said. "I feel we are getting a lot better."

The Cougars head back on the road again in two weeks as they travel to Oklahoma for a double header against Oklahoma State on March 5th and the University of Tulsa on March 6th.

BYU 1, BSU 6
Doubles: 
Bouvier/Schoeck (BSU) def. Nyman/Roshan (BYU)	     	8-5
Rezk/Silva (BSU) def. Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU) 	   	 	8-5
Klemann/Ludlow (BSU) def. Hand/Medina (BYU)		      	8-6
Boise State wins doubles point
Singles: 
Erik Nyman (BYU) def. Guillaume Bouvier (BSU) 		   	6-2, 7-5
Thomas Schoeck (BSU) def. Chip Hand (BYU) 			       6-4, 6-2 
Matias Silva (BSU) def. Ivan Kokurin (BYU)		       	7-5, 6-3
Nils Klemann (BSU) def. Nima Roshan (BYU) 			       6-4, 6-4
Mahmoud Rezk (BSU) def. Tim Bradshaw (BYU)			       6-3, 2-6 (10-3)
James Ludlow (BSU) def. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU)	    	6-3, 7-6 (3)

PROVO (February, 18, 2004) -- The BYU men's tennis team (No. 73) looks for a win at home as the No. 33-ranked Boise State Broncos come to town Friday at 6 p.m. in the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. The match is only the second of three home matches the Cougars will see this season.

The last time the Broncos were in Provo was in September for the BYU Invitational. BYU Senior Eric Nyman (No. 80) highlighted the tournament by winning 10 straight matches clinching the first place spot with a win over Boise's top-seeded Matias Silva (No. 66).

In their last dual meeting, the Cougars fell to Boise State in a 5-2 decision. Currently the Broncos hold a 5-3 overall record on the season, while BYU is in need of a home win to improve its 1-6 season record.

"We've faced some extremely tough competition over the past few weeks on the road," head coach Brad Pearce said. "All we're trying to do is get better. It's the tough competition that makes us better."