BYU falls to No. 18 Stanford despite strong performance

BURLINGAME, Calif. – Despite strong performances in both singles and doubles, the BYU men's tennis team fell to No. 18 Stanford in a close 4-3 match on Saturday at the Broadway Tennis Center.

“We felt if we came out and played aggressively in doubles and started the match with the doubles point, we had an opportunity to win,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “Matthew Pearce and Jacob Sullivan got us to three points by winning their singles matches, and everybody else fought hard and competed well. As disappointing as it was to not pull off the upset, I was encouraged by our play while giving credit to Stanford.”

BYU set the tone for a competitive match as Jeremy Bourgeois and Matthew Pearce clinched the doubles point over Stanford’s Brandon Sutter and David Wilczynski 6-4. John Pearce and Jacob Sullivan upset No. 15 Yale Goldberg and Sameer Kumar 6-4 at No. 1 doubles. 

Building on energy from doubles play, the Cougars fought hard to keep up with the Cardinal in singles. Matthew Pearce took down Wilczynski 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to push BYU ahead 2-1 after Stanford's Brandon Sutter bested Aidan Carrazedo. Senior Keaton Cullimore dropped his match 7-5, 6-4 to Kumar at first singles followed by Bourgeois’ loss to No. 68 Michael Genender at No. 2 singles. John Pearce rallied back in the second set but fell to Jack Barber 6-3, 7-6(0) before Sullivan finished with BYU's final point in a close 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win over William Genesen. 

BYU travels to Boston to take on Harvard on Friday, Jan. 27, and Cornell on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Match Results: BYU 4 Stanford 3

Doubles Results

1. J. Pearce/Sullivan (BYU) def. Goldberg/Kumar (Stanford) 6-4
2. Bourgeois/M. Pearce (BYU) def. Sutter/Wilczynski (Stanford) 6-4
3. Barber/Genender (Stanford) def. Cullimore/Carrazedo (BYU) 6-0

Order of finish: (3,1,2)

Singles Results

1. Kumar (Stanford) def. Cullimore (BYU) 7-5, 6-4
2. Genender (Stanford) def. Bourgeois (BYU) 6-0, 7-6(3)
3. Barber (Stanford) def. J. Pearce (BYU) 6-3, 7-6(0)
4. M. Pearce (BYU) def. Wilczynski (Stanford) 6-4, 6-4
5. Sutter (Stanford) def. Carrazedo (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Sullivan (BYU) def. Genesen (Stanford) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

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