LOS -- Doubles pair Cassidy Mears and Jonathan Sanchez advanced to the final match at the So Cal Intercollegiate Championships in Los Angeles on Saturday where they fell to the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Despite the loss, the Cougars counted the tournament as a success, especially as it's the last time the team will play until the spring season.
"We have some really good confidence now," said Mears. "We know what we need to work on and what will take us to the next level."
In the semifinals, the BYU duo defeated Fresno State's Rudolf Siwy and Mirko Zapletal in a hard-fought 8-6 match.
"I though [Jonathan and I] played really well together," said Mears. "We competed well and I felt like it was a really solid tournament for us."
As BYU spends the next couple of months preparing for the spring, it hopes to build on what was accomplished during this tournament. Highlights included wins over several of the top seeds in the tournament, as well as many of the top programs in the country.
"Everyone played well," said assistant coach Patrick Fisher. "It was definitely a good note to end on seeing as it's our last event going into the spring. We proved that we can play with the best in the country."
BYU will face many top-ranked teams when it begins its regular season, including No. 8 UCLA which participated in this past week's tournament.
Up next the Cougars will return home and begin to prepare for their first regular-season match on Jan. 11 when they host both Utah State and Weber State.
RESULTS
Doubles Main Draw
Semifinals
Mears/Sanchez (BYU) def. Siwy/Zapletal (Fresno State) 8-6
Finals
Altmann/Lemke (Pepperdine) def. Mears/Sanchez (BYU) 8-3