Cougars pick up first WCC win of the season, Pearce breaks coaching record

Box Score

PROVO, Utah – BYU men's tennis recorded its first West Coast Conference victory of the season over San Francisco in a record-breaking win on Saturday night at the BYU indoor tennis courts.

“I’m really pleased we got 1-0 up on the scoreboard for the WCC,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “I thought San Francisco fought hard. Once again, it came down to the No. 5 and No. 6 spots to get the match clinched. We had some really good performances this week."

With a win over the Dons, Pearce earned his 204th career win, passing his father, Wayne Pearce, as the all-time winningest coach in BYU men’s tennis history.

BYU (7-5, 1-0 WCC) got off to a strong start after securing back-to-back wins in doubles over San Francisco (2-4, 0-1 WCC). Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce topped Christian Brockstedt and Oliver Poysti, 6-1, while Aidan Carrazedo and Sam Tullis beat Ryan Marker and Paul Giraud, 6-3. Both Cougar duos went 2-0 on the weekend.

Carrying momentum from doubles into singles action, BYU recorded two quick straight-set victories. Jacob Sullivan dominated Marker 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 2 slot followed by a win from Matthew Pearce on court four, defeating Poysti 6-4, 6-1. The Dons answered with wins at first and third singles as Cullimore fell 6-1, 6-3 to Johan Joenhagen and Jeremy Bourgeois lost to Mert Zincirli, 6-4, 7-6(3). Tullis then defeated Woravin Kumthonkittikul 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the victory for the Cougars at No. 6 singles.

BYU hits the road to face Oregon and Drake next weekend.

Coach Pearce: Thoughts on the record-breaking win

“I don’t think anybody will fill my dad’s shoes in my eyes. He’s a great coach, father and role model. What an honor to be talked about in the same breath. I feel nothing but humility about that. It takes fighting like we did the past two nights to get wins like this. It says a lot about our players' grit and determination through the years. I’m just really proud of our guys.”

Results

BYU Men's Tennis 4, USF 2

Singles competition

1. JOENHAGEN, Johan (USF) def. CULLIMORE, Keaton (BYU) 6-1, 6-3
2. SULLIVAN, Jacob (BYU) def. MARKER, Ryan (USF) 6-0, 6-2
3. ZINCIRLI, Mert (USF) def. BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
4. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) def. POYSTI, Oliver (USF) 6-4, 6-1
5. PEARCE, John (BYU) vs. BROCKSTEDT,Christian (USF) 7-5, 4-6, unfinished
6. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. KUMTHONKITTIKUL, W. (USF) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. SULLIVAN, Jacob/BOURGEOIS, Jeremy (BYU) vs. JOENHAGEN, Johan/ZINCIRLI, Mert (USF) 3-5, unfinished
2. CULLIMORE, Keaton/PEARCE, John (BYU) def. BROCKSTEDT,Christian/POYSTI, Oliver (USF) 6-1
3. CARRAZEDO, Aidan/TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. MARKER, Ryan/GIRAUD, Paul (USF) 6-3

Match Notes: Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,1,3,6)