CORPUS CHRISTI -- The BYU men's tennis team came within just a few points of upsetting No. 19 Louisville in the second round of Corpus Christi Invitational Thursday, but couldn't hold on in the end, losing a heartbreaking match 4-3. The Cougars advanced to the second round by beating Marquette earlier in the day.
"This match drives the point home that when things aren't going your way you just have to work, " Coach Brad Pearce said. "We feel encouraged that hard work over the past month is giving us opportunities to beat top-ranked teams. Now we just have to close the deal."
The Cougars were close to closing the deal. After losing the doubles point they rallied in singles, winning three matches to knot the score at 3-3 with the Cardinals. In the deciding match, though, BYU couldn't quite put Louisville away, and dropped a hard-fought match 4-3. Even so, Pearce said he was pleased with how his team competed.
"I'm really proud of how our guys performed," Pearce said. "Everybody put in a great effort."
BYU had to beat a tough Marquette team earlier in the day to get to the Cardinals. In that match the Cougars took control quickly, nabbing the doubles point and carrying their momentum into singles play. Dominik Kaufhold got the first singles win for BYU, beating Ian Kawas in straight sets 6-0, 6-3. Chip Hand followed right behind, needing three sets to finish off his opponent but doing so in dominating fashion. James Ludlow chimed in with the final win to seal the 4-0 victory for the Cougars.
James
The victory did not come without obstacles for BYU. Today marked the fifth and sixth matches for the Cougars in the last seven days as they traveled to Texas immediately following a four-match road trip in California. Also, the Cougars had to go without Jonathan Sanchez, who sat out the match for health reasons. The injury put Zack Warren and Henry Marsh into the Cougar lineup, and the two sophomores responded well. It was the first action of the season for Marsh.
BYU 4 Marquette 0
1.James Ludlow (BYU) v.s. Eigintas Vedrickas (Mar) dnf
2.Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Ian Kawas (Mar) 6-0, 6-3
3.Chip Hand (BYU) def. Trent Hagan (Mar) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
4.Ivan Kokurin (BYU) v.s. Brett Binkley (Mar) dnf
5.Jose Lechuga (BYU) def. Stephen Shao (Mar) 6-0, 6-1
6.Zack Warren (BYU) v.s. Greg Sirotek (Mar) dnf
Finish: 2, 3, 1
Doubles
1.Lechuga/Ludlow (BYU) def. Vedrickas/Kawas (Mar) 8-0
2.Binkley/Van Lieshout (Mar) def. Hand/Marsh (BYU) 8-4
3.Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU) def Hagan/Shao (Mar) 8-5
BYU v.s No. 19 Louisville
Louisville 4 BYU 3
Singles
1.James Ludlow (BYU) def. Slavko Rdman (UL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2.Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Damar Johnson (UL) 6-2, 6-2
3.Chip Hand (BYU) def. JakobGustafsson (UL) 7-6, 6-0
4.Jeremy Clark (UL) def. Ivan Kokurin (BYU) 6-4, 6-3
5.Jhonny Berrido (UL) def. Jose Lechuga (BYU) 7-6, 6-0, 6-4
6.Nicholas Howard (UL) def. Zack Warren (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Gustafsson/Clark (UL) def Lechuga Ludlow (BYU) 8-3
2. Johnson/Berrido (UL) Hand/Marsh (BYU) 8-4
3. Radman/Tony Teufel (UL) v.s. Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU) dnf