No. 25 BYU concludes weekend play with 4-1 win over Saint Mary's

PROVO, Utah – No. 25 BYU men’s tennis pulled a 4-1 victory over Saint Mary’s Saturday at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

“We had a tough match today,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “Our guys dug deep to keep this train going. Every match is going to be tough and I’m proud of the way we were able to walk off with a win today. I give great credit to Saint Mary’s for coming out and battling today.”

Starting strong, the Cougars (14-2, 3-0 West Coast Conference) claimed the doubles point over the Gaels (2-9, 0-1 WCC). Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo at No. 2 doubles were the first to finish with a 6-2 win over David Abfalter and James Watt. No. 3 doubles finished not long after, with Matthew Pearce and Mateo Vereau Melendez defeating Daniel Krutik and Andy Watterson 6-2.

Up 1-0 going into singles, Gajardo took a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Krutik at No. 4 doubles. Saint Mary’s claimed their first and only point of the match when Tullis fell to Matis Bot 6-7, 3-6 at No. 3 singles.

With BYU up 2-1 in the match, the Cougars quickly won the next two singles matches to close out the victory. Sean Hill defeated James Watt at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Jeffrey Hsu topped Abhishek Bastola 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 No. 2 singles.

BYU continues WCC play on the road with their perfect 3-0 conference record next week, facing Gonzaga on Friday, Mar. 22, at 2 p.m. PDT and Portland on Saturday, Mar. 23, at 10:30 a.m. PDT.

MATCH RESULTS

#25 BYU 4, SAINT MARY’S 1

DOUBLES RESULTS

1. Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) vs. MATIS BOT/ABHISHEK BASTOLA (SMC) 5-2, unfinished
2. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. DAVID ABFALTER/JAMES WATT (SMC) 6-2
3. Mateo Vereau/Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. DANIEL KRUTIK/ANDY WATTERSON (SMC) 6-2

Order of finish: (2, 3)

SINGLES RESULTS

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. JAMES WATT (SMC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. ABHISHEK BASTOLA (SMC) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. MATIS BOT (SMC) def. Sam Tullis (BYU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. DANIEL KRUTIK (SMC) 6-2, 6-1
5. Matthew Pearce (BYU) vs. DAVID ABFALTER (SMC) 6-2, unfinished
6. David Ball (BYU) vs. BORIS RECKOW (SMC) 2-2, unfinished

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

Additional Coach Pearce Quotes

Saint Mary’s came out and played well in all the singles matches. Sean had a handful here on court one with a big server. He had to dig deep to come up with a win, same with Jeffrey. I just think that our guys had a gritty performance and had to dig deep for the performance today and that’s just the way it is in West Coast Conference play.

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