Cougars face Utes in Deseret First Duel rivalry match

PROVO, Utah--In the annual Deseret First Duel, No. 70 BYU men’s tennis will face in-state foe Utah, Saturday at 5 p.m. MST at the Eccles Tennis Center in Salt Lake City.

 

“We only have two players in our current lineup that have been a part of our domination over Utah the last four years; the rest are true freshmen,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We also lost a key player due to injury in Juan Canales, so this year we're clearly the underdogs. However, it doesn't mean we're not dangerous. We'll be ready to rumble.”

 

With their last loss against Utah coming in 2009, the Cougars (5-6) hope to continue their win streak against the Utes (8-2). BYU is 49-57 in all-time head-to-head meetings with Utah.

 

No. 91 Francis Sargeant leads the Cougars at the first singles slot with a 9-1 record this season, including wins against three nationally-ranked opponents. The captain has also worked his way into the all-time top 10 in singles winning percentage at BYU with a career record of 74-30 (.712).

 

Fans can follow the Live scoring for the match by going to byucougars.com

 

Next, the Cougars return home to take on Idaho, Mar. 1 at 5:30 p.m. MST.