BYU tennis falls 4-1 to UC Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. – BYU men’s tennis fell 4-1 to UC Irvine Friday afternoon at the Anteater Tennis Stadium.

“No matter who we play, the first match is always going to be tough for us when we’re transitioning from altitude to sea level,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “However, we wanted a match under our belt before playing San Diego as we’re both undefeated in conference play. We give credit to Irvine who played well today on their home courts. We’re already looking forward to San Diego—we’ll play better tomorrow.”

BYU (14-4) fought hard in doubles but ultimately fell short to UC Irvine (12-8). Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Vatsal Bajpai defeated Cougar duo John Pearce and Ben Gajardo 6-0 in No. 2 singles. Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu lost their first doubles match this season. Mason Hansen and Luca Marquard of UC Irvine earned a 6-4 victory over Hill and Hsu in the No. 1 slot.

Hsu claimed BYU’s only win of the day with a 6-2, 6-4 win in No. 2 singles against Sasha Krasnov. David Ball fell 6-1, 6-2 to Bajpai, while Hill lost to Luis Lopez in a three-set match 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. The Anteaters solidified the 4-1 win over the Cougars with a close win in No. 5 singles. Hansen defeated Gajardo 2-6, 6-4, 7-6.

BYU bounces back and plays conference opponent No. 42 San Diego on Saturday, Mar. 31, at noon PST at the USD West Tennis Courts. Live stats are available on the men’s schedule page.

Match Results

BYU 1, UC Irvine 4

Doubles Results

1. HANSEN, Mason/MARQUARD, Luca (UCI) def. HILL, Sean/HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) 6-4
2. MAN-SON-HING, Bruce/BAJPAI, Vatsal (UCI) def. PEARCE, John/GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) 6-0
3. PEARCE, Matthew/TULLIS, Jacob (BYU) vs. LOPEZ, Luis/GEALER, Daniel (UCI) 4-5 (DNF)

Order of finish: (2, 1)

Singles Results

1. LOPEZ, Luis (UCI) def. HILL, Sean (BYU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) def. KRASNOV, Sasha (UCI) 6-2, 6-4
3. MARQUARD, Luca (UCI) vs. PEARCE, John (BYU) 6-2, 4-6, 5-3 (DNF)
4. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) vs. GEALER, Daniel (UCI) 6-2, 4-6, 4-4 (DNF)
5. HANSEN, Mason (UCI) def. GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6
6. BAJPAI, Vatsal (UCI) def. BALL, David (BYU) 6-1, 6-2

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

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