Cougars Lose Close Match

Cougars finish second in Mountain West Conference

SAN -- BYU nearly pulled off an upset win over regular season champs San Diego State but couldn't quite finish it off, eventually losing to the Aztecs 4-2.

BYU got behind early as they lost the doubles point. SDSU beat BYU 8-5 on both the 1 and 2 doubles courts. Cougars Jose Lechuga and Nima Roshan, on 1 doubles, tied their match at 5 all but couldn't keep up with the Aztecs eventually falling 8-5.

It was the same for James Ludlow and Dominik Kaufhold on 2. They stayed neck and neck with SDSU until the Aztecs managed to gain some momentum from the home town crowd and won 8-5.

On the singles side of the ball, BYU fared much better. The red hot Chip Hand cruised to a 6-1,6-4 victory at the 5 singles spot to even the score at 1 apiece. SDSU jumped ahead with again with a win over Jonathan Sanchez at 6 singles. But the lead wouldn't last for long.

Freshman Shane LaPorte pulled out a huge win at 4 singles to even up the score again. That would be the last time BYU would score, as SDSU picked up wins at the top two spots to give them the 4-2 nod and the Mountain West Conference Crown.

The loss puts BYU at 17-7 overall and a second-place finish in the Mountain West Conference.

Results:
Singles                                               Scores
1.  Stronk(SDSU) def. Roshan(BYU)                     6-7,6-3,6-0
2.  Dickhardt(SDSU) def. Ludlow(BYU)                  7-6,7-5
3.  Das(BYU) vs. Carrascos(SDSU)                      DNF
4.  LaPorte(BYU) def. Groh(SDSU)                      6-4,6-4
5.  Hand(BYU) def. Haynes(SDSU)                       6-1,6-4
6.  Jung(SDSU) def. Sanchez(BYU)                      6-3,6-3
Doubles
1.  Stonk/Carrascos(SDSU) def. Lechuga/Roshan(BYU)    8-5
2.  Haynes/Jung(SDSU) def. Kaufhold/Ludlow(BYU)       8-5
3.  Hand/LaPorte(BYU) vs. Romero/Dickhardt (UNLV)     DNF