Goryachkov shines on Senior Day as No. 61 Cougars upset No. 56 Waves

BYU vs. Pepperdine box score

PROVO, Utah—Strong play from senior Andrey Goryachkov led No. 61 BYU to a 4-2 upset victory over the No. 56 Pepperdine Waves Friday afternoon.

The win for the Cougars marks the first time they have defeated Pepperdine since joining the West Coast Conference. Pepperdine falls to 10-9 on the year, 4-2 in conference play.

“I have great respect for Pepperdine’s players and coaches,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “They’re one of the great programs out there. But, I’m really proud of my guys today. They came out and executed and focused on those things that we’ve been working on in practice, and a win on top of that was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t be prouder of my players.”

The Cougars (17-5, 6-1 WCC) started the match off right by winning the doubles point. Goryachkov and partner Shane Monroe took down Guilherme Hadlich and Lautaro Pane in the No. 1 doubles spot, 6-2. Teammates Jeremy Bourgeois and Keaton Cullimore battled through a tough match in No. 3 doubles to defeat Tom Hill and Stefan Menichella 7-5 to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars. John Pearce and Jacob Sullivan’s match against Sidney Gabriel and Pedro Lamachkine was suspended at 5-5, as BYU had already won the doubles point.

Goryachkov didn’t let up in singles play, defeating Menichella 6-1, 6-2 in his final appearance at home. The victory put the Cougars up 2-0 in the match.

“I don’t think Andrey could have scripted his last match better,” Pearce said. “He got a huge win in doubles and got off the singles court quickly. He showed a lot of leadership today and played phenomenal tennis.”

Monroe dropped his match 5-7, 4-6 to Hadlich to give Pepperdine its first point of the match. Pearce’s comeback win over Lamachkine, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, put BYU up 3-1. Cullimore rallied in the third set after being down 0-4 to force a tiebreak, but lost to Pane, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). Bourgeois clinched the match for the Cougars with a strong finish in the third set, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

BYU will play its final matches of the WCC season in California next week. The Cougars will play Saint Mary’s on Friday, Apr. 22 at 12:00 p.m. PDT and Pacific Saturday, Apr. 23 at 1:00 p.m. PDT. Click here for live stats of both matches.

Tennis Match Results

Pepperdine vs BYU Men's Tennis Apr 15, 2016 at Provo, Utah (Indoor Tennis Courts)

#61 BYU Men's Tennis 4, #56 Pepperdine 2

Singles competition

1. HADLICH, Guilherme (PEP) def. MONROE, Shane (BYU) 7-5, 6-4

2. PANE, Lautaro (PEP) def. CULLIMORE, Keaton (BYU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)

3. GORYACHKOV, Andrey (BYU) def. MENICHELLA, Stefan (PEP) 6-1, 6-2

4. PEARCE, John (BYU) def. IAMACHKINE, Pedro (PEP) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

5. BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) def. SIDNEY, Gabriel (PEP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

6. CARRAZEDO, Aidan (BYU) vs. HILL, Tom (PEP) 7-6 (7-4), 1-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. GORYACHKOV, Andrey/MONROE, Shane (BYU) def. HADLICH, Guilherme/PANE, Lautaro (PEP) 6-2

2. PEARCE, John/SULLIVAN, Jacob (BYU) vs. SIDNEY, Gabriel/IAMACHKINE, Pedro (PEP) 5-5, unfinished

3. CULLIMORE, Keaton/BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) def. HILL, Tom/MENICHELLA, Stefan (PEP) 7-5 Match Notes: Pepperdine 10-8; National ranking #56 BYU Men's Tennis 16-5; National ranking #61 Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,1,4,2,5)