ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The BYU men’s tennis team fell to No. 41 Texas Tech, 7-0, in a neutral court match, Saturday. 

 

“On the road against top-40 ranked teams, we must do a better job of capitalizing on opportunities in both doubles and singles play,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “That was the story today. That was the story this weekend.”

 

The Cougars fell to 6-9 while the Red Raiders improved to 7-5.

 

In doubles play, sophomore Andrey Goryachkov and freshman Robin Pfister narrowly defeated Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas, 8-7, but Texas Tech claimed the other two doubles matchups. 

 

In singles play, Pfister won his first set 7-5 before falling in the final two against Johann Willems, 6-0, 6-2. Freshman Jeremy Bourgeois had a similar fate as he ended up falling in the tiebreaker to Francisco Zambon, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0.

 

BYU will be back in action March 21 at Pacific when it opens West Coast Conference play.

 

 

Texas Tech 7, BYU 0

March 8, 2014

 

Doubles

1. Goryachkov/Pfister (BYU) def. Soares/Dojas 8-7

2. DiLaura/Willems def. Sargeant/Pearce (BYU) 8-4

3. Hinnisdaels/ Zambon def. Galli/Bourgeois (BYU) 8-1

 

Singles

1. Soares def. Sargeant (BYU) 6-1, 6-3

2. Dojas def. Goryachkov (BYU) 6-3, 6-4

3. Zambon def. Bourgeois (BYU) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0

4. Willems def. Pfister (BYU) 5-7, 6-0, 6-2

5. Hinnisdaels def. Sullivan (BYU) 6-3, 6-3

6. Cailleau def. Carrazedo (BYU) 6-1, 6-3

PROVO, Utah -- The BYU men’s tennis team is gearing up for matches against ranked opponents No. 56 New Mexico Friday at 1 p.m. MST and No. 41 Texas Tech Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Linda Estes Tennis Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

 

Coming off a confidence-building 7-0 sweep of Idaho last weekend, the Cougars (6-7) look to finish strong in these two matches before opening up West Coast Conference play.

 

“We have a great rivalry with New Mexico as a regional competitor,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We call it a friendly rivalry because I think we respect each other’s programs and have a great relationship with their coaching staff. It’s a good opportunity for us, they’re always a good team.”

 

The Cougars are 33-20 all-time against the former Mountain West Conference opponent and current regional foe Lobos, who enter the match 13-4 on the season.

Against the Red Raiders, BYU is 2-4 all-time with the last meeting in 2010 resulting in a 4-1 loss.

 

“Texas Tech is always a good team year to year,” coach Pearce said. “We think it’s a great trip, a great opportunity for us at this stage. I think we’re becoming a little more dangerous.”

 

In the match against Idaho, five out of the seven BYU players who competed were freshmen while five of six singles matches were won in two sets.

 

After the two matches this weekend, BYU travels to California for WCC play against Pacific and Saint Mary’s, March 21 and March 22, respectively.