PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis (5-4, 1-0 WCC) beat Santa Clara (2-2, 0-1 WCC) 5-2, at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts on Saturday.

"I’m very pleased with the way that we came out in doubles," said BYU head coach Dave Porter. "We started quicker than we had in some of the previous matches and I think that helped set the tone for the day. We had some pretty convincing wins from Sean Hill, Sam Tullis and Matheus Ferreira Leite that sealed the deal, and then won two of the three remaining matches, so it was it was a good win for our first conference match. It gave the boys some confidence and we are excited to get back to work and look forward to playing Air Force on Friday."

BYU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with quick wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Sean Hill and Sam Tullis teamed up at No. 3 doubles and defeated Vasileios Ilipoulos Santiago Hinojosa, 6-3. Ben Gajardo and Jack Barnett clinched the doubles point in a 6-4 victory over Mann Shah and Dominic Barretto.

BYU carried over the momentum earned in doubles into singles matches. Tullis dominated his singles match, coming away with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Iliopolous. Matheus Leite gave BYU a commanding 3-0 lead as he stepped into the No. 6 spot and beat Nick Cmager, 6-0, 6-1. Hill gave BYU its fourth point and the win in another dominant Cougar victory, 6-2, 6-1 over Shah. With the win, Hill moves to 8-0 on the season.

Santa Clara picked up its first win of the match by way of Arthur Neuhaus who defeated Dominik Jakovljevic, 6-2, 6-4. The Broncos picked up another point when Guillaume Dalmasso beat Mateo Melendez, 7-6, 6-4. Gajardo ended the day on a positive note for BYU as he outlasted Barretto, 7-5, 6-4.

Next up, BYU will host the Air Force Academy on Friday, Mar. 12 at 2 p.m. MST. Live stats will be available. A live stream will also be available, if the match is played indoors.

At this time, spectators at home matches are still limited to family members only.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 5, SCU 2

Doubles Matches

1. Ben Gajardo/Jack Barnett (BYU) def. Mann Shah/Dominic Barretto (SCU), 6-4

2. Guillaume Dalmasso/Arthur Neuhaus (SCU) v. Mateo Melendez/Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU), 5-4, uf.

3. Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Vasileios Ilipoulos/Santiago Hinojosa (SCU), 6-3

Order of finish: (3, 1)

Singles Matches

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Mann Shah (SCU), 6-2, 6-1

2. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Dominic Barretto (SCU), 7-5, 6-4

3. Guillaume Dalmasso (SCU) def. Mateo Melendez (BYU), 7-6, 6-4

4. Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Vasileios Iliopoulos (SCU), 6-1, 6-1

5. Arthur Neuhaus (SCU) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU), 6-2, 6-4

6. Matheus Leite (BYU) def. Nick Cmager (SCU), 6-0, 6-1

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

PROVO, Utah — BYU men's tennis will be back at home this week for two weekend matches. The Cougars will host Montana on Friday, Mar. 5, at 2 p.m. MST and then open conference play against Santa Clara on Saturday, Mar. 6, at 11 a.m. MST.

A tough 4-3 loss at Utah State last weekend has BYU at 3-4 on the year going into this weekend's matches. In the loss to the Aggies, doubles pair Mateo Vereau Melendez and Dominik Jakovljevic earned a win, while three seniors, Sean Hill, Ben Gajardo and Sam Tullis picked up singles wins.

BYU Notes (3-4, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 3-4, most recently suffering a 4-3 loss at Utah State last weekend
• BYU has wins over Grand Canyon, Weber State and Idaho State. The Cougars three losses were at Oregon (twice), New Mexico at home, and at Utah State.
• The Cougars are led by seniors Sean Hill and Ben Gajardo, who each have six singles wins on the season, and have won their last four singles matches
• BYU doubles pair Mateo Vereau Melendez and Dominik Jakovljevic played together for the first time this season and picked up a 6-4 win at Utah State last weekend. The Cougars' doubles pair of Ben Gajardo and Sam Tullis is 3-2 on the year.

Head Coach - Dave Porter

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1975
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 3-4 (1st Season)
• Record at BYU: Same

BYU Doubles Records

• Ben Gajardo & Sam Tullis (3-2)
• Matheus Ferreira Leite & Mateo Vereau Melendez (1-4)
• Jack Barnett & Sean Hill (2-2)
• Ben Gajardo & Matheus Ferreira Leite (1-1)
• Sean Hill & Sam Tullis (1-1)
• Mateo Vereau Melendez & Dominik Jakovljevic (1-0)
• Jack Barnett & Mateo Vereau Melendez (0-1)
• Sean Hill & Dominik Jakovljevic (0-0)

BYU Singles Records

• Sean Hill (6-1)
• Ben Gajardo (6-1)
• Sam Tullis (4-3)
• Dominik Jakovljevic (3-4)
• Jack Barnett (2-2)
• Matheus Ferreira Leite (2-1)
• Mateo Vereau Melendez (1-5)
• Alex Lin (0-1)

Montana Notes (3-4, 0-0 Big Sky Conference)

• The Grizzlies are also 3-4, with their most recent wins coming on a doubleheader sweep of Whitworth on Feb. 21
• Montana has wins over Grand Canyon and Whitworth (twice)
• The Grizzlies' four losses are against Boise State, Weber State, UNLV and New Mexico State
• Montana returned four players from last season and welcomed four newcomers this season
• This is the first ever meeting between BYU and Montana

Head Coach - Jason Brown

• Alma Mater: Montana
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 33-27 (4th Season)
• Record at Montana: Same

Santa Clara Notes (2-1, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• The Broncos are 2-1, with their most recent win at Sacramento State, 4-3, on Feb. 28
• Santa Clara has wins over UC Davis and Sacramento State, with a loss at Cal Poly
• The Broncos returned eight players and also welcomed five newcomers this season
• The last meeting between BYU and Santa Clara was on Apr. 25, 2019 in the WCC Tournament. The Broncos defeated the Cougars, 4-3.
• BYU leads the all-time series against Santa Clara, 8-6.

Head Coach - Niall Angus

• Alma Mater: Texas A&M
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 52-35 (5th Season)
• Record at Santa Clara: Same

Match Information - March 5

• Time: 2 p.m. MST
• Live Stream: BYU Tennis Live Cam
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

Match Information - March 6

• Time: 11 a.m. MST
• Live Stream: BYU Tennis Live Cam
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast