Cougar Doubles Team Loses To 3rd-seeded SMU

PROVO -- A successful season for Gert Vilms and Carlos Lozano came to an end today at the NCAA tournament in Athens, Georgia. The team of Vilms and Lozano put a scare into thethird-ranked doubles team in the nation, Johan Brunstrom and Jon Wallmark of Southern Methodist University, but lost in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Vilms and Lozano took an overall record of 25-6 in doubles action into the tournament, but could not pull of the upset againstthe team of Brunstrom and Wallmark. Vilms and Lozano looked good in the second set, dominating the third-ranked team to win the set 6-3 and tie the match at a set apiece. But a hard-fought game in the third set won by Brunstrom and Wallmark turned the tide, and the team rode that momentum on to win the set 6-1 and pull out the victory over Vilms and Lozano.

After qualifying for the NCAAs for the Mountain Region, Vilms lost to the University of Mississippi's Alex Hartman, the 16th-seeded player in the tournament on Thursday afternoon by the score of 6-3, 7-6, with Hartman winning the tie-breaker, 7-5.

In the upset of the NCAA Tournament, San Diego State's Oliver Maiberger defeated the defending national champion and No. 1 ranked player, Stanford's Alex Kim. In the Mountain West Conference Tournament, BYU's Vilms defeated Maiberger, the MWC Player of the Year, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).

Vilms and Lozano will both be returning next season. Vilms will be a senior and Lozano will be a junior. This year's Cougar team, with no senior players, will not lose any of the players from this year's MWC Champion team.

RESULTS:

Doubles:

#3 Johan Brunstrom/Jon Wallmark (Southern Methodist University)

def.

Gert Vilms/Carlos Lozano (Brigham Young University) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

Singles:

#16 Alex Hartman (University of Mississippi)

def.

Gert Vilms (Brigham Young University) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)