LOS ANGELES -- The BYU men's tennis team ended the weekend with a 1-1 record after sweeping College of the Desert on Friday and falling 4-3 to Loyola Marymount on Saturday. With these matches the Cougars are now 5-2 on the season.
Playing at the LMU Tennis Center on Saturday, the Cougars failed to secure the doubles point, with their only winning performance coming from freshmen Thomas Shubert and A.J. Young (8-5).
"Losing the doubles point hurt us a little bit," said BYU head coach Brad Pearce. "In a 4-3 match, winning that point could have caused things to go the other way for us."
In singles, Tom Young was the first to score a point for BYU, easily defeating the Lions' Stefan Nikolic 6-0, 6-3. Shubert remained undefeated on the weekend, handing his LMU opponent a 6-3, 6-5 loss at the No. 2 position.
Cassidy Mears and Daniel Hwang both found themselves battling in three-set matches to try and claim the victory for BYU. After Mears fell (6-1, 4-6, 6-4) to Renzo Maggi, Hwang fought through leg cramps and pulled out an impressive 6-4, 1-6, 5-7 win. Despite his performance, it wasn't enough to save the Cougars.
"We had some great individual effort," said Pearce. "Unfortunately we didn't have enough team effort to get the win today."
Earlier on Friday, BYU's win over College of the Desert started with a successful doubles outing. Mears and Jonathan Sanchez, along with Shubert and A.J. Young helped claim the point for the Cougars.
Sanchez and Shubert pulled off tie-breaking wins in singles to contribute to BYU's sweep. Hwang, Mears and A.J. Young made quick work of their COD opponents, holding them to winning no more than two games in their respective matches. After the results of the match were already decided, Evan Urbina's opponent withdrew due to injury.
"This match was good for us to be able to get used to playing outdoors again and in the slower conditions that come when playing at sea-level," said Pearce. "It's just one more match under our belt and another win."
Up next the Cougars have Sunday off as they prepare to take on Azusa Pacific at 10:45 a.m. PT on Monday. The APU Cougars are entering the match unbeaten in their first six contests of the season.
RESULTSNo. 73 BYU - 3
Loyola Marymount - 4
February 16, 2008
Doubles
1. Tadevosian/Maggi (LMU) def. Mears/Sanchez (BYU) 8-6
2. Berhof/Twarowski(LMU) def. Hwang/Urbina (BYU) 8-6
3. Shubert/A. Young (BYU) def. Lopez/Von Der Ahe (LMU) 8-5
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. J. Twarowski (LMU) def. J. Sanchez (BYU) 7-6, 6-2
2. T. Shubert (BYU) def. S. Tadevosian (LMU) 6-3, 6-5
3. I. Lopez (LMU) def. E. Urbina (BYU) 6-2, 6-0
4. R. Maggi (LMU) def. C. Mears (BYU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
5. D. Hwang (BYU) def. J. Berhof (LMU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
6. T. Young (BYU) def. S. Nikolic (LMU) 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 6, 1, 2, 4, 5
PROVO -- The No. 73 BYU men's tennis team plans to make the most out of its holiday weekend, traveling to California to play three matches in four days. The Cougars (4-1) return to the west coast to play College of the Desert, Loyola Marymount and Azusa Pacific.
A member of the California Community College division, College of the Desert has claimed the state championship title 12 of the past 16 seasons, including its most recent in 2007.
BYU was initially scheduled to face LMU on Jan. 26, but the schools were forced to reschedule due to inclement weather in southern California. Earlier in the fall season, BYU's Tyler Clonts and A.J. Young faced players from LMU at the So Cal Intercollegiate Tournament, posting a combined 2-0 record against the Lions.
At the same tournament, BYU's doubles teams of Daniel Hwang and Evan Urbina, along with Cassidy Mears and Jonathan Sanchez, recorded big wins against Azusa Pacific. The Cougars of APU currently hold a 4-0 record as a member of the NAIA and are coming off a 5-2 win over NCAA Division III's No. 4-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
BYU's match against College of the Desert will begin at 1 p.m. PT on Friday, with the match against Loyola Marymount at 12p.m. PT on Saturday. After a rest on Sunday, the Cougars resume play on Monday, facing Azusa Pacific at 10:45 a.m. PT.