Cougars continue home win streak

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s tennis team continued their winning streak at home by claiming two wins, defeating Utah State 4-1 and Idaho State 5-2 in a doubleheader on Saturday at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

“Long day at the office for us today,” BYU assistant coach Aidan Carrazedo said. “It was great to get two solid wins under the belt. Credit to Utah State and Idaho State for coming out and taking it to us. We are looking forward to another good week of practice preparing for Denver on the road.”

BYU vs. Utah State Box Score

Utah State

The Cougars (5-6) started out strong in doubles, going 2-1 over the Aggies (1-6).

Sean Hill and David Ball had a quick finish with a 6-1 victory over Christian Holmes and Roko Salvin at the No. 3 slot. No. 2 doubles clinched the doubles point when Mateo Vereau Melendez and Matheus Ferreira Leite topped Sergiu Bucur and Arvid Hjalte 6-3. In the first position, Ben Gajardo and Sam Tullis came up short 2-6 against Felipe Acosta and Javier Ruiz.

In singles competition, BYU went on to win three matches, with Jack Barnett clinching the dual-match at 4-1.

Barnett faced Hjalte at No. 4 singles and took him to tiebreakers in each set, winning 7-6, 7-6. Hill took a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Acosta at the No. 1 slot, while Gajardo defeated Ruiz in two sets, 6-4, 6-4. At No. 2 singles Sam Tullis fell to Bucur, 7-6, 6-4, just before the end of the match.

BYU vs. Idaho State Box Score

Idaho State

After a quick 6-0 win on court three where Leite and Barnett topped Kyler Hartman and Boldi Rethi, the Cougars fell in the next two doubles matches to Idaho State (4-5). At No. 2 doubles, Hill and Ball dropped their match 4-6 to Lukas Ridemar and Yohann Prinsen, while Cougar duo Tullis and Gajardo lost in a close 5-7 match to Patrik Trhac and Gary Rendek.

The Bengals went on to claim the first singles match on the third court when Gajardo fell 3-6, 2-6 to Rendek. The Cougars quickly took the lead and won the match 5-2 from five consecutive wins.

Barnett handily defeated Prinsen at the fourth slot, winning 6-1, 6-1. At the No. 2 position, Tullis took on Trhac and won in two sets, 6-4, 6-3, tying the dual-match at 2-2. At No. 1 singles, Hill gave BYU the advantage when he claimed a 7-5, 7-6 victory over Ridemar. Brocton Andrus had a quick 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Rethi to clinch the match for the Cougars.

Up next, BYU has a long stretch of matches on the road, beginning with the University of Denver on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 12:30 p.m. MST.