Netters Breeze Through First Day of Regionals

LAS -- After the first day of the ITA Mountain Region Championships, the BYU men’s tennis team sent six players into the singles Round of 32. Four of five doubles pairs also advanced to the next round of the tournament.

Freshman Spencer Smith started the day with a bye before beating New Mexico’s Conor Berg 6-1, 7-5. George Batrakov, Evan Urbina, Thomas Shubert and Cassidy Mears also enjoyed first-round byes and then defeated their respective opponents to advance in the draw.

Roman Warias notched a win over Utah State’s Alex Thatcher in two sets and followed it with a straight-set victory over his New Mexico State challenger.

Three of BYU’s doubles pairs are seeded in the tournament and will begin play Thursday. Michael Eraso and Ricardo Campos beat Idaho State foes 8-2 to join their teammates in the Round of 32.

Because the Cougars have nine players participating in the tournament, Warias teamed up with Utah’s Dmytro Mamedov for doubles competition. The pair lost in the first round but will continue in the consolations.

Matches resume at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas. For updated results and draws, click here.