Cougars finish strong at Wildcat Invitational

TUSCON, Ariz. - The BYU men's tennis team finished its first fall tournament competition with some positive results in Tucson, Arizona this weekend.

“While results in pre-season tournaments are taken into account when it comes to our lineup for the first match of the season, what matters most is that our players are getting better from day to day and week to week,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “I was very pleased that our play vastly improved from day one to day two of the tournament. Simply getting better is paramount this time of the year.”

The Wildcat Invitational consisted of four singles draws and two doubles draws. BYU competed in three of the four singles draws, Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the French Open. The Cougars also competed in the two doubles draws, the Wilber and Wilma Doubles.

Wilma Doubles

David Ball and Brocton Andrus lost their first doubles match, 5-7, to Arizona’s Jared Horwood and Conner Olsen.

The duo then won back-to-back matches, including the consolation championship. In the consolation semifinals, Ball and Andrus topped Max Kirsch of Grand Canyon University (GCU) and Alex Exstead of the University of Northern Colorado (UNCO) 6-2, sending the pair to the championship round. The Cougar duo claimed a 6-2 victory over Lucas Landaluce and Sebastian Herrera of New Mexico State University (NMSU) in the consolation championship.

Wilber Doubles

Mateo Vereau Melendez and Jack Barnett faced Chris Steele and Alex Groves from North Arizona University (NAU) in the Round of 16, but came up short 3-6. In the consolation quarterfinals, The Cougar pair fell, 3-6, to Facundo Bermejo and Raul Dobai from the University of New Mexico (UNM).

Wimbledon

Andrus fell 6-2, 6-2 to Jared Horwood of the University of Arizona in the Round of 16. With a bye in the quarterfinals, Andrus advanced to the consolation semifinals where he defeated David Ngueyen of NAU 6-4, 7-5.

Andrus retired from the consolation championship match after being up 6-3 against UNCO's Nick Wade.

Australian Open

In the Round of 16, Vereau Melendez topped NMSU's Martin Simecek 6-3, 6-1. Vereau Melendez faced Arizona’s Igor Karpovets in the quarterfinals but came up short in three sets at 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (2).

Barnett fell 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, to Valentin Lang of GCU in the Round of 16, moving him to the consolation bracket. In the consolation quarterfinals, Barnett lost to NAU’s Steele, 7-5, 7-6.

In the compass draw, Barnett defeated Adolfo Arroyo of UNCO in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 10-6.

French Open

David Ball had three consecutive wins in the French open. In the Round of 16, Ball defeated UNCO’s Julian Kenzlers, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, and in the quarterfinals, Ball claimed his second victory of the day, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, over Alexander Maags from UNM.

In the semifinals, Ball took on NAU’s Eban Straker-Meads and came out on top in three sets, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Ball withdrew from the championship match due to the team leaving the tournament early.

The Cougars will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to compete in the Air Force Invitational Sept. 27-28.