BYU falls short to Minnesota 7-0

BOSTON – The BYU men’s tennis team lost their matchup against Minnesota 7-0, Saturday afternoon at the Beren Tennis Center.

“One of our team goals this season was to hit the top 25," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "In order to do that within the ranking system, we have to play—and beat— high-caliber teams on the road before getting into our regional and conference schedule. We were within a couple of points of beating Harvard yesterday and fought valiantly today."

"I’m proud of this team and the way they represent, and I am pleased that everyone that made the trip got an opportunity to compete," Pearce continued. "We’re not yet at 100% health-wise, but playing the high-level teams that we’ve played will only make us better and there is no question in my mind that record and results will take care of themselves by the end of the season.”

The Cougars (1-4) started out with their doubles matchups against the Gophers (2-0), with Minnesota picking up the first point of the dual-match.

Ben Gajardo and Sam Tullis dropped their match 0-6 at the No. 2 slot to Eli Ogilvy and Jackson Allen. At the No. 1 position, Sean Hill and Mateo Vereau Melendez fell 4-6 to Vlad Lobak and Siim Troost.

The Gophers carried the momentum from doubles and went on to win the singles matches on all six courts.

BYU's Brocton Andrus faced Ogilvy at the fifth spot, but lost 3-6, 1-6 while on the fourth court, Matheus Ferreira Leite took on Allen but fell 3-6, 2-6. Minnesota took the clinching point when Hill dropped a hard-fought match at the No. 1 position to Stefan Milicevic, 3-6, 3-6.

Playing out the remaining matches, Gajardo came up short in his match against Troost, losing, 5-7, 4-6 at No. 3 singles. At the No. 2 slot, Melendez took set one, but Lobak crawled his way back, winning sets two and three and claiming the match, 6-4, 2-6, 7-10. Then David Ball fell 5-7, 4-6 to Bodin Zarckovic on the sixth court.

Up next, BYU hosts its home opener as a double-header against East Tennessee State and Weber State on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 11:30 a.m. MST and 5 p.m. MST, respectively. Live stats and a live stream are available on the men’s tennis schedule page.

Results

Singles

1. Stefan Milicevic (MINN) def. Sean Hill (BYU), 6-3, 6-3

2. Vlad Lobak (MINN) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (10-7)

3. Siim Troost (MINN) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU), 7-5, 6-4

4. Jackson Allen (MINN) def. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU), 6-3, 6-2

5. Eli Ogilvy (MINN) def. Brocton Andrus (BYU), 6-3, 6-1

6. Bodin Zarckovic (MINN) def. David Ball (BYU), 7-5, 6-4

Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1*, 3, 2, 6

*clinching match

Doubles

1. Troost/Lobak (MINN) def. Hill/Vereau Melendez (BYU), 6-4

2. Ogilvy/Allen (MINN) def. Gajardo/Tullis (BYU), 6-0

3. Ferreira Leite/Ball (BYU) vs. Zarkovic/Milicevic (MINN), 4-4 unfinished

Order of Finish: 2, 1