PROVO, Utah -- (Sept. 14, 2005) -- Members of the BYU Men's tennis team went home happy Wednesday evening after the first day of competition in the Iman's Court Open.
Each of the six Cougars who played won their matches handily, and now look forward to day two of the tournament. Nima Roshan and Chip Hand did not play because they drew byes for the first round. However, both of them will play on Thursday.
Senior Jose Lechuga, provided the highlight for the BYU squad by defeating his opponent, Tanner Perry, in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Lechuga was in control the entire match.
However, a singles match played on court 14 stole the show. Mathis Saberon and Matthew Kunkel battled relentlessly for almost three hours before Saberon finally won the match 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 -- winning the final set tiebreaker 7-4.
BYU coach Brad Pearce said although he didn't get to watch all of his players very closely, he is pleased with the results and with the day as a whole.
"It was a beautiful day," he said. "What a great day to be a tennis player."
The Iman's Court Open continues Thursday and proceeds through Saturday. Matches for Thursday and Friday are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and Saturday's matches begin at 11 a.m. Along with the collegiate athletes, various tennis players from around Utah County will also be participating.
All matches will be played on the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts. Admission is free and open to the public.
A complete bracket and results can be found at www.edraws.com/byu.
Results:
Dominik Kaufold def Ryan Perry 6-3, 6-2
Jose Lechuga def Tanner Perry 6-0, 6-0
Zach Warren def Jason Herrud 6-3, 6-2
Jonathan Sanchez def Michael Shoenhals 6-1, 6-1
Ivan Kokurin dcf Alex Venagas 6-2, 6-2
James Ludlow def Jason Johnson 6-2, 6-3