BYU drops 4-0 match to No. 72 Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU men’s tennis fell 4-0 to No. 72 Utah Saturday afternoon. The Cougars (3-7, 1-0 WCC) fell in two doubles and three singles matches to bring the dual match to an early conclusion.

"It was great to have Jack Barnett back and we look forward to having Mateo Vereau back soon. Utah has a good team and beat us today. The matches were competitive and our energy was good," said BYU head coach Dave Porter.

FULL RESULTS

Doubles

1. No. 21 Berk Bugarikj/Patrik Trhac (Utah) def. Wally Thayne/Zach Fuchs (BYU) 6-3
2. Jack Barnett/Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Franco Capalbo/Geronimo Espin (Utah) 4-2, unf.
3. Francisco Bastias/Bruno Caula (Utah) def. Dominik Jakovljevic/Redd Owen (BYU) 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 3

Thayne and Fuchs kept their match with the nation’s No. 21 doubles team close, but ultimately lost at the No. 1 court. Utah won a break on deuce point to go up 3-1 before both teams held their serves for the rest of the match to give Bugarikj and Trhac the 6-3 victory.

No. 3 doubles finished next, where Bastias and Caula won three games while receiving to earn a 6-1 victory. All three of the breaks were won on a deuce point.

The Cougars had an advantage at No. 2 doubles but did not have the chance to complete the victory as Utah securing the doubles point meant Barnett and Andrus’ match went unfinished. The BYU duo survived on deuce point to hold serve twice and lead 3-2, with another deuce point win while receiving expanding the lead to 4-2. Barnett and Andrus were one point away from holding their serve again and potentially lead 5-2 when the match was called.

Singles

1. Franco Capalbo (Utah) def. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Jack Barnett (BYU) vs. No. 54 Geronimo Espin (Utah) 3-6, 2-4, unf.
3. Francisco Bastias (Utah) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Zach Fuchs (BYU) vs. Bruno Caula (Utah) 3-6, 4-5, unf.
5. Patrik Trhac (Utah) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Berk Bugarikj (Utah) 4-6, 2-5, unf.

Order of finish: 1, 5, 3

The Utes struck first in singles as well, picking up a win at the No. 1 court. Set one saw Capalbo take a one-break advantage to win 6-3. Thayne responded in the second with a break of his own to lead 2-0. But Capalbo would take the momentum right back, winning six-straight games to take set two 6-2.

No. 5 singles also saw a quick victory in the first set after Trhac won 6-2. Owen played the second much closer despite trailing 3-1 early. He never lost his serve again but was unable to land the break point he needed, losing 6-4.

The dual match was secured by Utah at No. 3 singles, where Jakovljevic battled back numerous times before falling short in both sets. In the first Bastias had a break to go up 2-1, but Jakovljevic responded with one of his own to tie the set at 2-all. Utah would later add two more breaks to win 6-3. Jakovljevic was also down in set two, 2-0, before he tied it at 2-2. Bastias later broke a 3-3 tie to once again win 6-3.

The remaining singles matches went unfinished with Utah having secured the dual match. Barnett was battling No. 54 Espin at No. 2 doubles, dropping the first set 6-3. Espin had gone up 4-2 in set two when the interruption came.

Utah won set one at No. 4 singles 6-3, but neither player had lost a game while serving in the second. Fuchs nearly had two breaks but lost both on deuce points. Caula was up 5-4 when the match went unfinished, but Fuchs was about to earn a 5-all tie.

No. 6 singles was also in Utah’s favor. Both sides had a break in set one before Bugarikj ultimately got another to win 6-4. The second also started with break from each player, but Andrus then lost three-straight games to trail 5-2 for the interrupted score.

The Cougars next travel to Eugene, Oregon, for two matches next weekend. They face No. 50 Texas Tech on Friday at 4:00 p.m. PDT and No. 55 Oregon on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.