BOISE -- The No. 59 BYU men's tennis team lost their third match of the week on Friday when the Broncos of Boise State edged the Cougars 5-2. The loss drops the Cougars to a 7-8 overall record on the season.
The Cougars came out strong against the fifty-first ranked Broncos by claiming the doubles point. Jose Lechuga and Anton Rudjuk beat Mahmoud Rezk and Thomas Schoeck 8-5 at the No. 2 spot and Alonso Medina and Jeff Olsen beat Ehren Vaughan and Matias Silva 8-4 at No. 3 doubles.
"We came out and played well enough to win the doubles point," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "We just didn't keep it going in singles."
In singles, Carlos Lozano was the lone Cougar to win in singles. He beat Guillaume Bouvier 6-4, 7-5 at No. 2 singles. Erik Nyman at No. 1 and Jeff Olsen at No. 5 both won the first set of their matches, but were unable to hold on for the win.
The Cougars conclude their week-long road trip on Saturday as the take on No. 50 Fresno State in Boise.
Final Score: Boise State 5, Brigham Young 2DOUBLES...
1. Berntson/Bouvier (BSU) def. Lozano/Nyman (BYU) 9-8
2. Lechuga/Rudjuk (BYU) def. Rezk/Schoeck (BSU) 8-5
3. Medina/Olsen (BYU) def. Silva/Ehren Vaughan (BSU) 8-4
SINGLES...
1. Marcus Berntson (BSU) def. Erik Nyman (BYU) 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
2. Carlos Lozano (BYU) def. Guillaume Bouvier (BSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Thomas Schoeck (BSU) def. Jose Lechuga (BYU) 6-0, 6-4
4. Nils Klemann (BSU) def. Alonso Medina (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Matias Silva (BSU) def. Jeff Olsen (BYU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Mahmoud Rezk (BSU) def. Anton Rudjuk (BYU) 7-6, 6-4
PROVO -- The 59th ranked BYU men's tennis team (7-4) will be on the road this week in California and Idaho as they take on No. 8 Stanford on Wednesday, No. 51 Boise State on Friday and No. 50 Fresno State on Saturday.
"This is going to be a very challenging week for us," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "We are going to play some great teams. This will give us all a chance to see just we're made of."
BYU is coming off a tough loss to No. 5 California on Monday. The Bears swept the Cougars 7-0, winning every match except at the No. 1 doubles position. Cougars Erik Nyman and Carlos Lozano defeated Steve Berke and John Paul Fruttero 8-6.
The Cardinals of Stanford come into Wednesday's match having won its last six matches. They currently have four players ranked in the top 70 in the nation in singles, as well as two doubles teams ranked in the top 30. They have an 11-2 record.
After the match with Stanford, BYU will be traveling to Boise where they will take on BSU and FSU. The Broncos of BSU currently have a 10-6 record and are coming off big wins over South Alabama and Notre Dame. BSU recently jumped from No. 68 to No. 51 in the rankings and are looking to improve their ranking with a win over BYU.
The Bulldogs of FSU have won six of their last nine matches and have already passed their win total from last season, with a 9-6 overall record. Fresno State is 3-2 in March despite playing five ranked opponents.
"All the teams we face this week are tough and very competitive," said Osborne. "We usually face them each year and they always come ready to play. We just need to work on the things we've been working on in practice and focus one each match, one at a time."
After this long road trip, the Cougars will be at home next weekend to begin conference play as the face Utah on Thursday, San Diego State on Friday and UNLV on Saturday. All three matches will begin at noon.
