LOS ANGELES – The BYU men’s tennis team fell 7-0 to No. 11 UCLA on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

BYU vs. UCLA Results

“I would be much happier right now with a big, upset win, but I couldn’t be any prouder of the way our guys competed this afternoon against one of the best teams in the country," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "We battled at every position, going three sets on three courts. So there are a lot of positives to build on as a jumpstart to our season.”

The Cougars (0-1) put up a fight against the Bruins (1-0) but came up short in doubles competition.

At the No. 1 slot, Sean Hill and Mateo Vereau Melendez battled it out against UCLA’s Govind Nanda and Keegan Smith but fell 4-6. David Ball and Ben Gajardo dropped their match 1-6 at the No. 3 position against the Bruin duo, Bryce Pereira and Patrick Zahraj.

Moving into singles, UCLA claimed the next six wins. Hill toughed it out in the first position against No. 7 Keegan Smith and took him to three sets, but Hill ultimately fell 6-4, 3-6, 1-6. At No. 2 singles, Melendez battled with Govind Nanda, but lost 6-7 (7-9), 3-6.

After coming back to win the second set at the No. 3 slot, Matheus Ferreira Leite took Drew Baird to three, but fell 3-6, 6-3, 4-6. Jack Barnett dropped his match 2-6, 1-6 against Ben Goldberg at the No. 4 singles position.

After dropping the first set 0-6, Gajardo rallied back to win the second set 6-3, but fell in the third to Patrick Zahraj in a tiebreaker set at 6-7 (5-7). Ball faced Connor Hance in the No. 6 position, but fell 6-7 (4-7), 3-6.

The Cougars travel East to face George Washington University on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. EST. Live stats will be available on the men’s tennis schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s tennis team opens regular season play on the road against No. 11 UCLA, George Washington and Old Dominion.

The Cougars first travel west to face UCLA on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. PST. BYU then travels to the east coast for its matchup against George Washington University on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. EST and Old Dominion on Monday, Jan. 20, at 1 p.m. EST.

BYU

Newcomers Jack Barnett and Matheus Ferreira Leite round out the Cougar roster as eight players return to compete. A successful fall tournament season brought BYU a regional champion and runner-up, a trip to the ITA All-American and to the ITA Fall National Championship. The Cougars look to build on their success during the dual-match season.

NO. 11 UCLA

The Bruins have 12 returning players and one new freshman. Their experienced lineup earned them the No. 11 national ranking after a successful 2019-20 fall season. This matchup will the 11th the Cougars have seen.

George Washington

The Cougars have only faced the Colonials one other time in 2014, where BYU came out on top with a 4-3 victory. George Washington sports a young team with seven sophomores. Two seniors solidify the Colonial lineup.

Old Dominion

The Monarchs are showing off a young team with six underclassmen. Three upperclassmen round out the team. During the 2018-19 season, BYU took on Old Dominion twice, coming out with wins in both matches.  

Scores for the matches will be updated on the men’s tennis schedule page as soon as matches are completed.