Back-to-back sweeps for Cougars in win over Bobcats

PROVO, Utah — BYU men's tennis earned back-to-back sweeps after beating Montana State 7-0 at the Indoor Tennis Courts on Monday.

"We're happy to have played Montana State today," BYU head coach Dave Porter said. "They [Montana State] had a good match with Utah State last night. I thought the boys came out hard in doubles and especially the first sets in singles. We got a little lethargic in the second set, but for the most part they played good tennis today. We're excited to leave in the morning and head up to Portland and Gonzaga for two important conference matches."

The Cougars quickly earned the doubles point, doing so for the second-straight match. Jack Barnett and Ben Gajardo handled Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk at No. 1 doubles, 6-2. At No. 2 doubles, Sean Hill and Sam Tullis followed shortly thereafter with a 6-2 victory as well. Mateo Vereau Melendez and Brigham Andrus were leading 5-2 at No. 3 doubles when BYU clinched the doubles point.

Hill finished first, earning a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Joaquin Espinoza at No. 1 singles. Tullis then beat Van Dijk at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-3. Gajardo followed with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 No. 2 singles win over Nejc Sitar and moments later, Melendez tacked on a fifth BYU point of the day, beating Brad Buckland at No. 4 singles, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Matheus Ferreira Leite continued the dominance for BYU, beating Jakob Mosvold in the No. 5 spot, 6-1, 6-3. Dominik Jakovljevic then completed the 7-0 sweep, beating Chase Stoner at the No. 6 spot, 6-0, 6-2.

The Cougars will now travel to the Pacific Northwest for West Coast Conference matches at Portland and at Gonzaga. The match against the Pilots will be on Thursday, April 1, and the match against the Bulldogs will be on Saturday, April 3. Both matches are slated to begin at 11 a.m. PDT.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 7 MSU 0

Doubles Competition

1. Jack Barnett/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Nejc Sitar/Daan Van Dijk (MSU), 6-2

2. Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Brad Buckland/Joaquin Espinoza (MSU), 6-2

3. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Manuel Monteiro/Jakob Mosvold (MSU), 5-2, uf.

Order of finish: (1, 2)

Singles Competition

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Joaquin Espinoza (MSU), 6-3, 6-2

2. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Nejc Sitar (MSU), 6-2, 1-6, 6-1

3. Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Daan Van Dijk (MSU), 6-3, 6-3

4. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU) def. Brad Buckland (MSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

5. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU) def. Jakob Mosvold (MSU), 6-1, 6-3

6. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) vs. Chase Stoner (MSU), 6-0, 6-2

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