ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (April 7, 2006) --The BYU men's tennis team (9-14, 2-0) has taken its motto of starting over with a clean slate and concentrating on conference play to heart, earning their second-straight conference victory over Air Force 5-2 to remain unbeaten in conference play.
"The bottom line is we won, and we're thrilled to be 2-0 in the conference," said Coach Pearce. "Now we just have to keep going out and playing loose."
Improving their play in doubles, the Cougars came out firing on all cylinders and blew through the doubles point. The Cougars took all three matches from the Falcons in convincing fashion, with 8-6, 8-0, and 8-3 victories. BYU's doubles duo of Christian Hand and Henry Marsh played together for just the seventh time this season, and were able to help their team with the 8-3 victory.
The Cougars looked equally as dominant in singles, functioning with few hang-ups along the way. Although the Cougars lost on courts one and six, they were able to put the Falcons down in the matches in between and quickly seal the ninth victory of the season for BYU. The Cougars' four singles victories came in straight-sets, with especially impressive victories coming from senior Ivan Kokurin and junior Dominik Kaufhold. Kokurin breezed through his match 3 and 1, while Kaufhold matched that with a 6-1, 6-3 victory of his own.
The 5-2 win outs BYU in good shape for its match with No. 29 TCU tomorrow. The match begins at 10 a.m.
Air Force 2 BYU 5
Doubles
1. Lechuga/Ludlow (BYU) def. Buck Johnson (AFA) 8-6
2. Kaufhold/Kokurin (BYU) def. Ferry/Alexander (AFA) 8-0
3. Hand/Marsh (BYU) def. White/Cronican (AFA) 8-3
Singles
1. Shannon Buck (AFA) def. James Ludlow (BYU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Trevor Johnson (AFA) 6-1, 6-3
3. Ivan Kokurin (BYU) def. Robert Alexander (AFA) 6-3, 6-1
4. Jose Lechuga (BYU) def. Keith Cronican (AFA) 6-4, 6-2
5. Chip Hand (BYU) def. Gregory Ferry (AFA) 6-4, 6-2
6. Ryan White (AFA) def. Zack Warren (BYU) 6-1, 6-1