Cougars on a roll at regionals

LAS -- At it again on Day 2 of the ITA Mountain Region Championships, the BYU men’s tennis team proved a major threat as five Cougars took down opponents in the singles Round of 64 Thursday.

“We advanced five out of seven players today in the main draw and we advanced two out of three pairs in the doubles main draw,” head coach Brad Pearce said. “I think it was a really successful day for the Cougars.”

No. 2 seed Thomas Shubert, in his first singles match of the tournament, defeated Alex Grubbs of Air Force in straight sets, clinching a 6-0, 6-4 win.

Teammate No. 5 seed Evan Urbina pulled away from Idaho State opponent Rodrigo Azevedo 6-3, 6-0.

Spencer Smith grabbed victory from Benito Surriano of Utah in the Round of 64, beating Surriano 7-6, 6-1.

They were joined by freshmen Patrick Kawka and Tyler Loong in their first appearance at the ITA Regionals. Kawka, originally from Las Vegas, only allowed opponent Kyle Walker of Nevada-Reno one game in the 6-0, 6-1 match and Tyler Loong of Orem, Utah, beat Weber State’s Landon Barlow 7-5, 7-5.

Ricardo Campos’s first round match was postponed because of Wednesday’s rain. Campos defeated Lucas Salcedo of Air Force 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round, but fell to No. 4 Arthur Surreaux of New Mexico State 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 64.

Roman Warias also lost in the Round of 64 after a rough 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 match with Simon Unger of Weber State.

Doubles action saw more victories for BYU, with six wins between the three pairs.

Shubert and Smith, No. 2 in the tournament, paired up to take on Devin Lane and Alejandro Medinella of Utah, taking the Round of 32 match 8-4.

No. 6 seed Kawka and Urbina had more of a tough time with their opponents, but pulled off the win against Felipe Frattini and Orlando Superlano of New Mexico State 8-6.

Success continued in the Round of 16, with Shubert and Smith’s defeat of Wessim Derbel and Quentin Mege of Nevada-Reno 8-6. Kawka and Urbina also advanced after their 8-6 win against Denver’s Fabio Biasion and Enej Bonin (No. 13).

In the consolation rounds, Campos and Warias stopped Kenny Dodd and Lander Jewett from winning a single game, beating the Montana pair 8-0. The Cougars also held Eric Braun and Michael Facey of Montana to zero with an 8-0 win.

The doubles quarterfinals begin at 9 a.m. Friday at the Darling Tennis Center. The singles Round of 32 starts at 10 a.m., with five Cougars looking to continue their progression through the draw.

For more information on the tournament, click here.