Cougars fall in All-American Tournament

TULSA -- Day 4 of the D’Novo/ITA Men’s Tennis All-American Tournament proved tough for the BYU men’s tennis team, who tallied four losses for the day.

“I thought there were a few very bright spots,” said assistant coach Zack Warren, who travelled with the Cougars to the tournament. “I liked the chemistry on the team and I liked how each guy was on the sidelines supporting his teammates. We were playing against some of the best players in the country and I thought that we handled ourselves well, despite the losses.”

Thomas Shubert lost in the second round of qualifying, falling to Maryland’s Maros Horny (6-2, 6-1). Horny defeated the No. 1 college player in the nation, John-Patrick Smith Sept. 24.

Georgia’s Drake Bernstein defeated Evan Urbina in the qualifying consolations 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

In doubles action, Spencer Smith and Urbina fell to Ilija Martinoski and Eric West of Oklahoma State in a hard-fought 9-7 match in the first round.

Patrick Kawka and Shubert also lost in the first round of doubles to Duke’s Chris Mengel and Fred Saba (8-3).

The last time BYU sent four players to the All-American Tournament was 2005.

“It’s nice to have four guys in this tournament,” Warren said. “Usually we come here with one or two, but this year we were able to get four players. That tells a lot about the depth of our team.”

The Cougars return to Provo to prepare for the ITA Region VII Championships, which kick off Oct. 15 in Las Vegas.