Boise, Idaho (March 25, 2005)--BYU 's 64th ranked men's tennis team (11-4) lost a heartbreaker today 4-3 in the semifinal of the Boise Invitational to 28th ranked Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
The Cougars struggled early on, failing to get any wins on the doubles court. BYU's Nima Roshan and Jose Lechuga dropped their match 8-5, followed by a tough 9-8 loss for James Ludlow and Dominik Kaufhold at two singles. Shane LaPorte and Chip Hand lost 8-2 on the third doubles court.
The Cougars never seemed to regain their momentum after killing Bradley University and Wichita State in the first two rounds. TAMUCC and BYU would split the singles with the top three going to TAMUCC and the bottom three going to BYU. Two of those top three losses would go three sets. Ludlow, playing at his usual two singles spot couldn't quite hold on in the final set, losing 7-6,4-6,6-3.
Freshman Shane LaPorte met similar fate at three singles. After coming out swinging like a maniac, LaPorte cruised in the first set 6-1 but soon wore down eventually losing the final two sets 4-6,6-3.
The Cougars come home for quick spell and then it is off again to San Diego where they will play UNLV on Friday April 1st followed by an April 2nd match against host San Diego State.
Results: Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4, BYU 3
Doubles:
1. Blandin/Kumantsou, TAMUCC, def. Roshan/Lechuga, BYU, 8-5
2. Figueiredo/Bacaicoa, TAMUCC, def. Ludlow/Kaufold, BYU, 9-8
3. Roman/Morant-Rivas, TAMUCC, def. LaPorte/Hand, BYU, 8-2
Singles:
1. Raul Morant-Rivas, TAMUCC, def. Nima Roshan, BYU, 6-3 7-6
2. Jeremy Blandin, TAMUCC, def. James Ludlow, BYU, 7-6 4-6 6-3
3. Andrey Kumantsov, TAMUCC, def. Shan LePorte, BYU, 6-1 4-6 6-3
4. Jeff Das, BYU, def. Goncalo Figueiredo, TAMUCC, 1-6 6-1 7-6
5. Chip Hand, BYU, def. Maxime Godin, TAMUCC, 7-5 4-6 6-3
6. Dominik Kaufold, BYU, def. Oscar Roman, TAMUCC, 6-2 6-4