Los Angeles, Calif. (November, 4, 2004) The men's tennis team won a couple and lost a couple in a day that saw long hard fought tennis as they squared off against some of the country's top competition.
BYU advanced to the sweet sixteen thanks to some great tennis played by juniors Jose Lechuga and Nima Roshan. Sophomore ace Jeff Das continues to dominate the opposition as he advanced as well.
"The guys are really playing some good tennis," head coach Brad Pearce said. "I am really proud of our guys. BYU is making a name for itself in the tournament."
Lechuga cleanly swept a good Jeremy Dean from UCLA 7-5,6-4. Teammate Nima Roshan meet similar success as he easily handled Alabama's Bill Mertz 6-4,6-2 while Jeff Das made short work of another UCLA player, Jason Nguyen in two sets 6-0,6-3.
"We had some great wins today," said Brad Pearce. "Especially those over UCLA, they are a great school with great players."
But the heartbreakers would come. Jonathan Sanchez almost pulled off a huge upset over Alabama's top 25 ranked player. Sanchez lost the first set 7-6, then came from behind to win the second set 5-7 and would later go neck in neck in the third set until D'Agord pulled away winning 7-6. BYU's Kaufhold and Hand would drop their matches to UCLA's Kris Kwinta 6-2,2-6,6-1 and USF's Pires de Almeida 6-4,6-2 respectively.
"Sanchez played a great match," Pearce said. "It was really fun to watch."
In doubles, the men fared better. In the qualifying rounds BYU's duo of Das/Sanchez and Kaufhold/Ludlow would win their two qualifying matches and advance to the main draw. Lechuga/Roshan received an automatic main draw bid. To advance Kaufhold and Ludlow beat UCLA's French doubles champion.
The tournament continues tomorrow with singles at 10 am.
Results:
Main Draw: Round of 32
Nima Roshan def. Billy Mertz (Alabama) 6-4,6-2
P. Pires de Almeida (USF) def. Chip Hand 6-4,6-2
Kris Kwinta (UCLA) def. Dominik Kaufhold 6-2,2-6,6-1
Luigi D'Agord (Alabama) def. Sanchez 7-6,5-7,7-6.
Jose Lechuga def. Jeremy Dean (UCLA) 7-5,6-4
Jeff Das def. Jason Nguyen (UCLA) 6-0,6-3
Doubles
Round 1:
Kaufhold/Ludlow def Malet/Politanoff (LMU) 8-6
Das/Sanchez vs. BYE
Hand/LaPorte vs. BYE
Round 2:
Kaufhold/Ludlow def. Dehaine/Drean (UCLA) 8-5
Dass/Sanchez def. Oijala/Spector (UCSD) 8-1
Brody/Dalskov (UCSB) def. Hand/LaPorte 8-3