No. 68 BYU men's tennis upsets No. 61 Florida Atlantic 4-2 in a solid team effort

ORLANDO, Fla. — A solid team effort by No. 68 BYU men's tennis leads to a 4-2 upset win over No. 61 Florida Atlantic Saturday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.

“It’s always a challenge to come from indoors at altitude during the dead of winter to a hot, sunny day in Florida," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "The guys worked really hard, starting with our first practice the night of our arrival to be ready for this match against a very good, well-coached team in Florida Atlantic. The conditions were very slow and the points were long, but we proved we were in great shape and ready for a very physical match. I was very proud of our guys; it was a great team win to keep our momentum going after beating Utah.”

The Cougars (3-0) came out ready to play and claimed the doubles point over the Owls (2-1). Teammates Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu secured a 6-4 win in No. 1 doubles against Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia while BYU duo Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo defeated Kirac Bekisoglu and Gabriel Sidney 7-5. 

At the No. 3 doubles spot, Matthew Pearce and Mateo Vereau Melendez battled Mehdi Laalej and Thomas Guy to a 5-5 score, but the match was not completed.

BYU was up 1-0 before Florida Atlantic fought back with wins at No. 3 and No. 5 singles and a 2-1 advantage. Sidney topped Melendez 6-3, 6-4 while Garcia defeated Gajardo 7-5, 6-2.

The Cougars came right back with three straight singles wins. Hsu defeated Bekisoglu 6-4, 6-1 in the No. 2 spot. Hill followed in No. 1 singles with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory against Legall.

BYU secured its 4-2 match victory when Pearce ousted Alvaro Fernandez Horta 7-6, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.

The Cougars remain in Florida to face No. 66 UNC-Wilmington on Monday, Jan. 21, at 11 a.m. EDT at the UTSA National Campus.

Match Results

BYU 4, FAU 2

Doubles Results

1. Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. Jason Legall/Ignacio Garcia (FAU) 6-4
2. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Kirac Bekisoglu/Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-4
3. Thomas Guy/Mehdi Laalej (FAU) vs. Mateo Vereau/Matthew Pearce (BYU) 5-5, unfinished

Order of finish: (2,1)

Singles Results

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Jason Legall (FAU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
2. Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) def. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) vs. Sam Tullis (BYU) 3-6, 6-1, 1-1, unfinished
5. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. A. Fernandez Horta (FAU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1

Order of finish: (3, 5, 2, 1, 6)

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