Cougars End Regular Season with 6-1 Upset

PROVO -- The BYU men's tennis team ended its regular season at home on Saturday, pulling a decisive 6-1 upset over No. 65 UC Santa Barbara. With the win the Cougars improve to 15-11 on the season.

"I couldn't be prouder of our guys," said BYU head coach Brad Pearce. "After a tough loss to Utah last week they bounced back by beating a good, ranked team. Everyone came ready to play, so I can't say enough good things about our team today."

To begin the match, doubles pair Jonathan Sanchez and AJ Young jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over UCSB's Bijan Hejazi and Philip Therp on court one. The duo continued to dominate the match, recording an 8-2 win. Daniel Hwang and Thomas Shubert earned an 8-5 win of their own at the No. 2 position, giving the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.

Before the start of singles play, Sanchez, BYU's lone senior, was recognized for his accomplishments over the past four years, and was presented with his senior blanket.

In singles the momentum continued to roll in the Cougars' favor, as Shubert made quick work of Hejazi on court two (6-1, 6-2). Sophomore Cassidy Mears soon followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jack Hui.

The Gauchos continued to struggle, as Max Taylor fell to Daniel Hwang, 6-1, in the first set. Taylor attempted a comeback in the second set, tying things up at 4-4, but Hwang went on to win the following two games, clinching the overall win for BYU.

Evan Urbina and Young, playing on courts four and six, respectively, posted identical 7-6, 6-2 wins over their UCSB opponents. Both freshmen pulled out close tie-breaking wins in the first sets before going on to post comfortable wins.

"Winning the doubles point was key for us today," said Pearce. "We were then able to carry that momentum into singles. The guys played a complete match today."

The Cougars will study and prepare for finals over the next few days, before heading to the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. BYU, the No. 5 seed, is scheduled to face No. 4 UNLV on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT.

RESULTS
BYU def. No. 65 UC Santa Barbara, 6-1
April 19, 2008 - Provo, Utah
Doubles
1.  Sanchez/Young (BYU) def. Hejazi/Therp (UCSB) 8-2
2.  Hwang/Shubert (BYU) def. Finkelstein/Konigsfeldt (UCSB) 8-5
3.  Dalskov/Hui (UCSB) def. Mears/Urbina (BYU) 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1.  P. Therp (UCSB) def. J. Sanchez (BYU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
2.  T. Shubert (BYU) def. B. Hejazi (UCSB) 6-1, 6-2
3.  C. Mears (BYU) def. J. Hui (UCSB) 6-2, 6-3
4.  E. Urbina (BYU) def. A. Konigsfeldt (UCSB) 7-6, 6-2
5.  D. Hwang (BYU) def. M. Taylor (UCSB) 6-1, 6-4
6.  A. Young (BYU) def. J. Finkelstein (UCSB)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 6, 4, 1