PROVO, Utah – The No. 50 BYU men’s tennis team topped the UNLV Rebels 5-0 at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts Friday.

“UNLV is a really solid regional rival of ours, I’m surprised we took care of them like we did,” head coach Brad Pearce said. “I’m gaining a lot of confidence in our team.”

Video Highlights and Interviews

The Cougars improve to 8-2 on the year while the Rebels suffer their first loss of the season.

The young duo of freshman John Pearce and sophomore Keaton Cullimore were off the court first as they quickly defeated Gilad Berman and Carlos Di Larua 8-1 on Court 3.

Patrick Kawka and Francis Sargeant secured the doubles point with an 8-4 victory over Bernard Schoeman and Ace Matias.

In singles play, Sargeant didn’t lose a single game as he crushed his opponent on Court 3. Cullimore also finished strong and beat Berman in short sets 6-3, 6-1.

On Court 1, Kawka earned the deciding point by defeating Matias 6-4, 7-5.

Senior Spencer Smith rounded out the BYU victory with a long three-set win on Court 2.

The Cougars return to action tomorrow against No. 52 Denver at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. Admission is free and pizza will be provided.

Doubles

1. Kawka/Sargeant (BYU) def. Schoeman/Matias (UNLV) 8-4

2. Smith/Rae (BYU) vs. Market/Batya (UNLY) 6-6 (DNF)

3. Cullimore/Pearce (BYU) def. Berman/Di Laura (UNLV) 8-1

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles

1. Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Ace Matias (UNLV) 6-4, 7-5

2. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Tamas Batyi (UNLV) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

3. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Charlie Alvarado (UNLV) 6-0, 6-0

4. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) def. Gilad Berman (UNLV) 6-3, 6-1

5. John Pearce (BYU) vs. Bernard Schoeman (UNLV) 6-2 (DNF)

6. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) def. Johannes Markel (UNLV) 6-4 (DNF)

Order of finish: 4, 3, 1, 2

PROVO, Utah – Following a thrilling 4-3 victory last Saturday, the No. 50 BYU men’s tennis team plays back-to-back matches at home this weekend against the UNLV Rebels and the No. 52 Denver Pioneers.

The Cougars (7-2) host the Rebels (5-0) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. MST. Then the Pioneers (2-2) will come to play the same time on Saturday.

With his recent victory over No. 65 John Lamble, Patrick Kawka earned a No. 74 national ranking, the Intercollegiate Tennis Assocation announced Wednesday. The junior from Las Vegas is the first Cougar to be ranked this year.

Kawka and his doubles partner Francis Sargeant also received a No. 59 ranking in doubles play for their 6-3 record this season.

UNLV has not lost this year, most recently it defeated UC Riverside 7-0. This will be the Rebels first road match of the season.

Denver features No. 47 Enej Bonin at the No. 1 singles position. The Cougars own a 9-3 advantage all-time against the Pioneers.

As always at home matches, pizza and prizes will be provided. Spectators may park in the “Y Lot” parking lots to the northwest and southwest of the courts after 4 p.m. Admission is free.