PROVO, Utah – Matthew Pearce helped BYU bounce back from a tough loss to earn a 4-2 win over Portland Saturday night at the Indoor Tennis Courts to open WCC play for both teams.

“I’m really pleased with the way our guys showed resilience bouncing back from a tough loss yesterday, losing the doubles point tonight and then coming out battling to get the job done in the singles,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “I give a lot of credit to Portland—they came in and fought hard. We hope to get Sean (Hill) back healthy and in the lineup next week against Denver.”

BYU (8-1, 1-0 WCC) duo Sam Tullis and David Ball came out strong in No. 3 doubles with a quick 6-1 win over Andrew Newell and Drew Davison. Portland (5-4, 0-1 WCC) took control of doubles with Jamie Fisher and Carlos Donat defeating John Pearce and Ben Gajardo 6-3. The Pilots clinched the doubles point with a win in No. 1 doubles.

The Cougars were ready and came out fighting in singles to win three consecutive lines. Gajardo defeated Newell 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 4 slot. S. Tullis earned a big victory over Donat, winning the first set 6-3. Both players battled back and forth in the second set, and with many match points, Tullis ultimately won with a 14-12 tiebreak score to secure the match. J. Pearce beat Pierre Garcia 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in No. 2 doubles to push the Cougars ahead 3-1 and keep the momentum going for BYU.

Hsu fell to Mathieu Garcia in a hard-fought match in No. 1 singles. After dropping a close first set—a 12-10 tiebreaker score, Hsu came back to win the second set 6-4, but he ultimately fell short in the third set 6-2.

Matthew Pearce clinched the 4-2 win for BYU over Portland with a solid 6-3, 6-4 victory against Jamie Fisher in No. 5 singles.

BYU will take on regional opponent University of Denver Saturday, Feb. 24, at 12:00 p.m. MST at the Stapleton Tennis Pavilion in Denver, Colorado. Results will be updated following the match on the men’s schedule page.

Match Results

BYU 4, Portland 2

Doubles Results

1. GARCIA, Pierre/GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) def. HSU, Jeffrey/PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 6-4
2. FISHER, Jamie/DONAT, Carlos (POR) def. PEARCE, John/GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) 6-3
3. TULLIS, Sam/BALL, David (BYU) def. NEWELL, Andrew/DAVISON, Drew (POR) 6-1

Order of finish: (3, 2, 1)

Singles Results

1. GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) def. HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) 7-6 (12-10), 4-6, 6-2
2. PEARCE, John (BYU) def. GARCIA, Pierre (POR) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
3. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. DONAT, Carlos (POR) 6-3, 7-6 (14-12)
4. GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. NEWELL, Andrew (POR) 6-3, 6-2
5. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) def. FISHER, Jamie (POR) 6-3, 6-4
6. TULLIS, Jacob (BYU) vs. DAVISON, Drew (POR) 5-4 (DNF)

Order of finish: (4, 3, 2, 1, 5)

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PROVO, Utah – With a 7-0 undefeated record, BYU men’s tennis hosts two matches this weekend.

The Cougars will battle in-state rival Utah State Friday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 p.m. MST. Then West Coast Conference foe Portland comes to Provo Saturday, Feb. 17, at 5:30 p.m. MST. Both matches will be played at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

Sean Hill recently moved to No. 116 in the ITA national rankings for singles. He is 7-0 in No. 1 singles for BYU and will have a big match this weekend as he takes on No. 21 Michail Pervolarakis of Portland.

Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo are coming off weeks of solid victories in singles, helping the Cougars clinch crucial wins and remain undefeated.

Doubles duo Hill and Jeffrey Hsu are 5-0 as the Cougars top doubles pair while teammates Matthew Pearce and David Ball are 5-1 in doubles for the season.

Utah State
The Aggies (4-3, 1-0 MWC) most recently lost to No. 16 Texas but swept Boise State 4-0. Senior Jaime Barajas leads the team in No. 1 singles. Several BYU players competed against USU players in the Fall ITA Mountain Regional tournament.

The Cougars have lost the last three-straight matches to the Aggies by the same 4-3 score. 

Portland
The Pilots (4-3, 0-0 WCC) won consecutive matches against Idaho and UC Davis last weekend. No. 21 Pervolarakis was named this week's WCC Singles Player of the Week and is 6-0 this season in the No. 1 slot for Portland.

In the last six years, BYU has lost to the Pilots twice, most recently a 4-1 loss last season.

Match Information
Admission to the matches is free to the public and free pizza and prizes will be provided. A Jimmer Fredette autographed basketball will be raffled Friday night and the first 50 students at Saturday night's match will receive T-shirts.

Links to live stats and a video stream can be found on the men’s schedule page.

Follow Men’s Tennis on Social Media

Fans can keep up with the latest on Cougar tennis by following us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/byumenstennis/), Twitter (@BYU_Mens_Tennis) and Instagram (@byumtennis).