SALT LAKE -- In its first conference win of the season, the BYU men’s tennis team upset No. 65 UNLV, 6-1. With the win, the Cougars improve to 1-2 against Mountain West opponents and 13-10 on the season.

“It was a tough UNLV team with great competitors,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “I couldn’t be more proud of what they guys accomplished.”

UNLV took the first doubles match, winning 8-3 on court one. But courts two and three belonged to the Cougars with both BYU pairs taking their respective matches 8-5 to earn the point. The team is 10-0 on the season when winning the doubles point.

Junior Cassidy Mears continued the scoring for the Cougars picking up a point after his 6-2, 6-1 win on court four. UNLV’s Elliot Wronski notched the lone win for the Rebels with a straight-set victory at the No. 1 position.

BYU kept rolling with a 6-4, 6-4 win by Daniel Hwang on court six. The Cougars needed to win only one of the three remaining matches to clinch their first conference victory.

“We’re still a young team. Guys need more play, more experience in big matches,” Pearce said. “We played much better today than yesterday, and I’m pleased with that.”

Just getting the win wasn’t enough for BYU, however, and the Cougars took all three remaining matches. Thomas Shubert secured the victory after his win at the No. 3 position. Georgy Batrakov and Evan Urbina followed suit, recording three-set wins on courts five and two, respectively, to end the match at 6-1.

“I’m leaving here dwelling on a great win and not two losses,” Pearce said. “I’m looking forward to next week.”

The team will continue conference play in San Diego next weekend against No. 37 San Diego State, Air Force and No. 36 New Mexico.

Match Results
BYU- 6
No. 65 UNLV- 1
Doubles
1. No. 79 Barlocchi/Wronski (UNLV) def. Batrakov/Young (BYU) 8-3
2. Hwang/Shubert (BYU) def. Toth/Wulff (UNLV) 8-5
3. Mears/Urbina (BYU) def. Bouras/Burrows (UNLV) 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. E. Wronski (UNLV) def. R. Warias (BYU) 6-0, 6-4
2. E. Urbina (BYU) def. M. Bouras (UNLV) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. T. Shubert (BYU) def. L. Barlocchi (UNLV) 7-6, 6-2
4. C. Mears (BYU) def. W. Burrows (UNLV) 6-2, 6-1
5. G. Batrakov (BYU) def. A. Toth (UNLV) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
6. D. Hwang (BYU) def. M. Kunkel (UNLV) 6-4, 6-4    
Order of finish: 4, 1, 6, 3, 5, 2

PROVO -- A weekend of stiff competition with conference opponents awaits the No. 63 BYU men’s tennis team in Salt Lake City. The 12-8 Cougars will face No. 48 TCU, No. 62 Utah and No. 65 UNLV.

“We play three good schools,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “We’re poised and ready after last weekend’s matches to play with confidence.”

Conference champion TCU will be the first hurdle for BYU. The Horned Frogs own a 6-9 record on the season with their last results being a 7-0 win over Columbia. Their two ranked doubles teams have broken the top 30 and currently sit at No. 21 and No. 28. TCU also has three singles players in the ranking mix.

The teams met twice last year, once in the regular season and once at the conference tournament. The Horned Frogs bested the Cougars in both matches.

“We were a younger team last year,” Pearce said. “This year we have more experience and better know what to expect in these tough conference matches.”

BYU will turn its attention to in-state rival Utah Friday. The 12-6 Utes defeated Loyola Marymount, 6-1, in their last outing. Utah has one pair ranked in the top 75. Last season, the Cougars were unable to overcome the Utes, dropping a 4-3 match at home.

The team will close out the weekend against UNLV. The Rebels are 12-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference play after sweeping Air Force but falling 5-2 to No. 34 New Mexico. BYU lost a close 4-3 match to UNLV in the regular season before upsetting them 4-2 in the first round of the conference tournament last year.

“They are all good teams so we’re just taking it one match at a time,” Pearce said.

Thursday’s match against TCU begins at 9 a.m. The match Friday starts at 1 p.m. and play versus UNLV is set for 9 a.m. Saturday. All matches will be played at the Liberty Park Tennis Center, weather pending. If inclement weather occurs, matches will be moved indoors to the Eccles Tennis Center.