SPOKANE, Wash. – After playing three matches in three days, the No. 39 BYU men’s tennis team came away with three wins as they topped Gonzaga 7-0 for the last win on Saturday at the Spokane Racquet Club.

 

 

With the win over Gonzaga (7-11, 0-5 West Coast Conference), BYU (19-4, 6-0 WCC) remains perfect in league play and marks its eight consecutive win.

 

 

“Gonzaga was a good team. People look at a 7-0 score and might think Gonzaga just wasn’t that good,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “But there were moments where I thought we might not pull it out. But everybody bounced back and showed their resilience. These guys just don’t give in.”

 

 

After securing the doubles point with wins on courts 1 and 2, several singles players found themselves down in the first set. No. 42 Patrick Kawka lost his first set but battled back to claim the win at the No. 1 singles position 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

 

 

“PK [Kawka] was down a set, Spencer was down 3-0, but everybody dug in and fought back so we ended up getting a 7-0 win,” coach Pearce said. “I was really pleased for Spencer. I told him that he played a great match yesterday and if he played as well today, he’d have success.”

 

 

Smith overcame his 3-0 deficit and topped Levin Guillermo in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Francis Sargeant was the first singles player to claim a point for BYU as he quickly defeated Olivier Jamin 6-0, 6-3.

 

 

With a 7-6, 7-5 victory on court 4, sophomore Keaton Cullimore won his eleventh straight singles match. Freshmen John Pearce and Andrey Goryachkov also contributed points to the match as they each put away their opponents in straight sets.

 

 

“In tennis, you need the whole team, and right now everyone has a role and everyone is really fulfilling it, whether on the court or not,” coach Pearce said. “It’s great to see the preparation, camaraderie and outright fight on this team. To see it all combined is very satisfying.”

 

 

The Cougars play their last two matches on the road against conference opponents Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount on Friday and Saturday.

 

 

 

Doubles

 

1. #86 Kawka/Sargeant (BYU) def. Schoebel/Mijatovic (GU) 8-6

 

2. Goryachkov/Smith (BYU) def. Smithd/Brandt (GU) 8-4

 

3. Mosquera Perez/Nazal (GU) def. Cullimore/Pearce (BYU) 8-5

 

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

 

Singles

 

1. #42 Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Alvaro Nazal (GU) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5

 

2. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Levin Guillermo (GU) 6-3, 6-4

 

3. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Olivier Jamin (GU) 6-0, 6-3

 

4. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) def. Vladimir Mijatovic (GU) 7-6, 7-5

 

5. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) def. Hayden Smith (GU) 6-2, 6-1

 

6. John Pearce (BYU) def. Jack Schoebel (GU) 6-3, 6-3

 

Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6

PROVO, Utah – Following a hard-fought 4-3 victory over No. 45 Boise State, the No. 39 BYU men’s tennis team plays Portland on Thursday, No. 72 Idaho on Friday and Gonzaga on Saturday.

 

BYU (16-4, 4-0 West Coast Conference) faces Portland on the road at 10 a.m. PDT, Idaho in Spokane at 5 p.m. PDT and Gonzaga on the road at 10:30 a.m. PDT.

 

For the third time this season, the Cougars are riding a five-match win streak.

 

Junior Patrick Kawka upset No. 29 Andrew Bettles last week but still fell a few spots in the ITA singles rankings this week to No. 42.

 

With a 7-1 record in their last eight matches, Kawka and teammate Francis Sargeant re-entered the national polls in doubles play at the No. 86 spot.

 

Portland (9-9, 2-3 WCC) has yet to win a match against a ranked opponent this season, with its most recent loss coming against No. 10 Pepperdine last week.

 

Idaho (20-4, 4-0 WAC) earned an 11-4 record in the month of March while Gonzaga (7-11, 0-5 WCC) recorded three wins that month, including a 5-2 victory over New Mexico State on March 28.

 

The Cougars will travel to California on April 19 to play Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount in their last two matches of the regular season.