Broncos Calm Cougars With 6-1 Win

PROVO -- The No. 74 BYU men's tennis team (3-5) battled but couldn't keep up with the No. 31 Boise State Broncos (5-3), losing 6-1 Saturday at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. The loss also snaps BYU's 12-match home winning streak.

The lone point for the Cougars was scored by Jose Lechuga, who bounced back from a tough three-set loss last night and cruised by Brent Werbeck to a 6-3, 6-1 win.

"I'm pleased with our effort, but disappointed with the result," Coach Brad Pearce said. "We fought hard, but just couldn't close things out when we had the chance."

The Cougars had their chances, but had to play from behind in order to get them. Early in the match, BYU found itself down 0-1 on every doubles court. Chip Hand and Jonathan Sanchez were able to rally from being down 4-1 and pull out the win 8-6. However, BYU's other doubles duos weren't as fortunate, coming up short and giving the doubles point to the Broncos.

The trend continued on the singles side of things, with the Cougars fighting but not able to finish off their opponents. James Ludlow matched up with No. 13 Luke Shields in a tremendous match that had both players up against the rope at times. Shields played well in the first set, using his power to get out in front quickly with a 6-3 win. But Ludlow responded, coming out strong in the second set and building a 5-2 lead. He was unable to hold on for log, as shield rallied and won the next five games, going away with the 6-3, 7-5 victory. Boise State took three of the other five matches in straight sets.

The Cougars will now take some time off before they head back to California where they will play four matches in five days. Their first West Coast opponent will be University of Pacific on Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. PT.

RESULTS
Boise State 6 BYU 1
Doubles:
1. Schoeck/L. Shields (BSU) def. Ludlow/Lechuga (BYU) 8-2
2. Hand/Sanchez (BYU) def. Dilaj/Roberson (BSU) 8-6
3. C. Shields/ Robertson (BSU) def. Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU) 8-5
Order of Finish:1, 2, 3
Singles
1. Luke Shields (BSU) def. James Ludlow (BYU) 6-3, 7-5
2. Thomas Schoeck (BSU) def. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
3. Clancy Shields (BSU) def. Christian Hand (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Eric Roberson (BSU) def. Ivan Kokurin (BYU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Jose Lechuga (BYU) def. Brent Werbeck (BSU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Piotr Dilaj (BSU) def. Jonathan Sanchez(BYU) 6-, 7-6 (7-5)
Order of Finish: 3,1, 4, 2, 5, 6