PROVO, Utah--Nationally ranked No. 91 Francis Sargeant came from behind for the win, helping No. 66 BYU men’s tennis clinch the victory, 5-2, over UNLV outdoors at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Friday.

 

“It feels good to get a win,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “It was a tough transition to play our first outdoor match of the season in 80-degree heat, but our guys did a great job in adjusting to the heat and slower conditions, and they were hungry for a win today. We're looking forward to tomorrow; we should be sharper and better acclimated.”

 

The Cougars (5-5) gave the Rebels (4-1) their first loss of the season.

 

The junior Sargeant picked up his eighth singles win of the season by beating Ace Matias. After falling in the first set, 4-6, he swung the momentum in his favor, winning the final two, 6-4, 6-1.

 

BYU began the match by taking the doubles point. First, freshmen Sterling Galli and Jeremy Bourgeois finished off Tamas Batyi and Dimitar Petrov 6-2. Sargeant and sophomore Andrey Goryachkov then won their match against Denys Pume and Ace Matias, 6-4.

 

In singles action, Bourgeois put the Cougars on the board first by ousting Willie Sublette in two sets, 6-3, 6-5 (7-5). At No. 2 singles Goryachkov beat Denys Pume in a come-from-behind win after falling in the first set 5-6 (4-7). He decisively won the final two sets, 6-4, 6-4.

 

Galli also was victorious in his match by slipping past Ozzy Abraham 6-5 (7-5), 6-4. 

 

BYU resumes play tomorrow in a match against No. 53 San Diego State at 10 a.m. PST at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

 

 

 

 

Tennis Match Results 

Brigham Young vs UNLV 

Feb. 14, 2014 at Las Vegas, NV 

(Fertitta Tennis Complex) 

 

#66 Brigham Young 5, UNLV 2 

 

 Singles competition 

1. #91 SARGEANT, Francis (BYU) def. Ace Matias (UNLV) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 

2. GORYACHKOV, Andrey (BYU) def. Denys Pume (UNLV) 5-6 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4 

3. Tamas Batyi (UNLV) def. PFISTER, Robin (BYU) 6-2, 6-4 

4. BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) def. Willie Sublette (UNLV) 6-3, 6-5 (7-5) 

5. Dimitar Petrov (UNLV) def. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 

6. GALLI, Sterling (BYU) def. Ozzy Abraham (UNLV) 6-5 (7-5), 6-4 

 

 Doubles competition 

1. SARGEANT, Francis/GORYACHKOV, Andrey (BYU) def. Denys Pume/Ace Matias (UNLV) 6-4 

2. GALLI, Sterling/BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) def. Tamas Batyi/Dimitar Petrov (UNLV) 6-2 

3. Willie Sublette/Ozzy Abraham (UNLV) vs. PFISTER, Robin/PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 5-4, unfinished 

 

Match Notes: 

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,4,6,5,1,2) 

PROVO, Utah--The No. 66 BYU men’s tennis team hits the road this weekend to face UNLV and No. 53 San Diego State, Friday at noon PST and Saturday at 10 a.m., respectively, at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas. 

 

“The week of practice last week really helped us--We were that close to upsetting Boise State,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “Our schedule does not get any easier as we travel to Las Vegas to play UNLV and San Diego State.  Both are very good teams, but we'll be hungry for a win.”

 

BYU (4-5) is 18-12 against the Rebels (4-0) and 27-24 against the Aztecs (3-2) all-time.

 

The Cougars are eager to get back to the win column after a narrow loss to No. 45 Boise State, 4-3.

 

Leading the team is junior captain Francis Sargeant who broke into the top 100 ITA rankings Tuesday at No. 91. In Saturday’s match he beat a nationally ranked opponent for the third time this season when he downed No. 54 Andy Bettles, 6-5 (7-4), 6-3. Earlier in the season, he also beat No. 86 Henry Craig of Denver and No. 124 Nikita Fomin of George Washington.

 

Next weekend the Cougars will head up north to take on in-state rival Utah in the Deseret First Duel match Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. MST.