SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Strong doubles play and wins from John Pearce and Sam Tullis weren’t enough as BYU fell to LMU in a hard-fought 4-3 contest for the final match of the regular season on Saturday.
With the score tied 3-3, sophomore Matthew Pearce fought back to send his match into three sets but ultimately fell 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to Lukas Moenter who clinched the win for the Lions.
BYU (13-11, 6-3 West Coast Conference) posted wins on courts two and three to claim the doubles point after dropping the first match to LMU (6-14, 2-6 WCC). Aidan Carrazedo and Jacob Sullivan topped Ryan Brown and Luke Bohuslav 6-4 while Matthew Pearce and John Pearce teamed up for their second victory of the weekend as a duo, beating Moenter and Max Kaiser 6-4.
In singles play, the Lions’ Nick Borchenko ousted senior Keaton Cullimore in straight sets to tie the score 1-1. Freshman Sam Tullis defeated Alex Bourgeois 6-4, 6-2 before Carrazedo lost to Kaiser at No. 5 singles to even up the score again. On court two, Sullivan dropped only his second conference match of the season to Gabriel Diaz Freire who won 6-4, 6-3.
With the Cougars trailing 3-2, junior John Pearce answered with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Bohuslav to keep BYU alive, but it wasn’t enough as the Lions clinched the 4-3 victory at the No. 4 slot.
The Cougars return home to prepare for the WCC tournament which begins Thursday, April 27 at the Biszantz Tennis Center in Claremont, California. Match details will be posted to the BYU men’s tennis schedule page.
LMU 4, BYU 3
Doubles Competition
- Borchenko/Diaz Freire (LMU) def. Bourgeois/Cullimore (BYU) 6-3
- Carrazedo/Sullivan (BYU) def. Bohuslav/Brown (LMU) 6-4
- M. Pearce/J. Pearce (BYU) def. Moenter/Kaiser (LMU) 6-4
Order of finish: (1,2,3)
Singles Competition
- Borchenko (LMU) def. Cullimore (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
- Diaz Freire (LMU) def. Sullivan (BYU) 6-4, 6-3
- J. Pearce (BYU) def. Bohuslav (LMU) 6-2, 6-4
- Moenter (LMU) def. M. Pearce (BYU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
- Kaiser (LMU) def. Carrazedo (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
- Tullis (BYU) def. Bourgeois (LMU) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: (1,6,5,2,3,4)