Cougars finish strong at ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains is in the books, with BYU men’s tennis securing five more wins on Saturday. Four Cougars competed in the tournament hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy this weekend, finishing day two with a winning record (5-4).

“I am pleased with Saturday’s outcome. On Friday we failed to adjust and did not compete the way we are capable of competing. There is no substitute for match play, and for these four players, I am confident that this experience will greatly assist in preparing them for the ITA Mountain Region Tournament in New Mexico in a couple of weeks,” head coach Dave Porter said.

For singles, Dominik Jakovljevic (0-3) played in the lightning draw. Redd Owen (1-2) was in the raptor draw, while Brian Chen (2-1) and Alex Lin (2-1) were in the eagle draw. Jakovljevic and Lin (1-2) partnered for doubles play, as did Chen and Owen (1-2).

Day One:

All four Cougars were in action early. Lin recorded the team's first win of the 2022-23 season with his straight-set singles victory over New Mexico State's Roko Stipetic. Freshmen Chen and Owen made their BYU debuts, with Owen securing his first career victory with a straight-set singles match of his own.

Jakovljevic represented BYU in the competition's top singles flight, where he dropped close matches to Utah's Bruno Krenn and Weber State's Sebastian Buxman. All four Cougars were also able to open their doubles seasons on Friday.

Singles Results

Round One

• Dylan Applegate (Utah) def. Brian Chen (BYU) 6-1, 6-0
• Bruno Krenn (Utah) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
• No. 4 Alex Lin (BYU) bye to next round
• No. 1 Anish Sriniketh (Denver) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 6-3, 6-1

 Round Two

• Brian Chen (BYU) bye to next round
• No. 3 Sebastian Buxman (Weber State) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 7-5, 6-3
• No. 4 Alex Lin (BYU) def. Roko Stipetic (New Mexico State) 6-3, 6-4
• Redd Owen (BYU) def. Kyle Garner (Air Force) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Results

Round One

• Eskic/Papajcik (Denver) def. Jakovljevic/Lin (BYU) 6-3
• Vroman/Waldman (Air Force) def. Owen/Chen (BYU) 7-5

Round Two

• Jakovljevic/Lin (BYU) bye to next round
• Relik/Huppin (Montana State) def. Owen/Chen (BYU) 6-2

Day Two:

Chen had a strong Saturday, winning his two singles matches to record his first career victories. He remained undefeated on the day after an afternoon doubles win with teammate Redd Owen.

Lin was the fourth seed in his draw, and he ended the competition by upsetting the bracket’s top-seed, Denver’s Raffaello Papajcik. The duo battled through multiple tiebreakers, with Lin ultimately victorious in a 10-point set three duel.

Lin partnered with Jakovljevic earlier in the day to down in-state foes Applegate and Spina from Utah in one of their two doubles matches Saturday. The victory was also the pair’s first career victory together.

Singles

Round Three

• Brian Chen (BYU) def. Henrik Lynum (New Mexico State) 6-4, 6-4
• Mitch Johnson (Denver) def. No. 4 Alex Lin (BYU) 6-0, 6-1
• Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) bye to next round
• Redd Owen (BYU) bye to next round

Round Four

• Brian Chen (BYU) def. Alex Asenov (Idaho) 6-1, 5-7, 10-6
• Arjun Kersten (Air Force) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 6-4, 7-5
• No. 4 Alex Lin (BYU) def. No. 1 Raffaello Papajcik (Denver) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 10-7
• Corey Clarke (New Mexico State) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles

Round Three

• Jakovljevic/Lin (BYU) def. Applegate/Spina (Utah) 6-2
• Owen/Chen (BYU) bye to next round

Round Four

• Masala/Asenov (Idaho) def. Jakovljevic/Lin (BYU) 6-3
• Owen/Chen (BYU) def. Kurata/Ramesh (Idaho) 6-2

The Cougars return to action next Saturday when Jack Barnett and Wally Thayne travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the ITA All-American Championships.