Orlando, Fla. – An all-around team effort pushed BYU past Florida Gulf Coast University 6-1 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida Monday afternoon.
"This weekend was a great start to our season," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "Both coaches from UNC-Wilmington and FGCU said how impressed they were with how prepared our guys were. The team came out to Florida with very different weather conditions and were prepared physically and mentally to battle. It feels good to come out on top to two teams who both won their conference last year and competed in the NCAA tournament. We're not taking anything for granted and this gives us momentum moving forward."
The Cougars (2-0) started off strong against the Eagles (0-2) to earn the doubles point. Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu defeated Oliver Landert and Felipe Ramirez 6-2 in the No. 1 slot. BYU’s Sam Tullis and John Pearce fell short to Felipe Escobar and Mateo Ruiz 7-5. Matthew Pearce and David Ball secured the doubles point for BYU in the No. 3 slot with a victory over Austin Bates and Javier Fernandez 7-5.
In singles play, BYU quickly topped FGCU with four-straight victories from J. Pearce, Ben Gajardo, Hill and Hsu. S. Tullis fell short in his match, but M. Pearce battled against Fernandez and came out on top 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 in No. 5 singles.
The Cougars host Montana State and Weber State in a doubleheader home-opener at the Indoor Tennis Courts in Provo Saturday, Jan. 20, at 11 a.m. MST and 5 p.m. MST, respectively.
Match Results
BYU 6, FGCU 1
Doubles Results
- Hill/Hsu (BYU) def. Landert/Ramirez (FGCU) 6-2
- Escobar/Ruiz (FGCU) def. S. Tullis/J. Pearce (BYU) 7-5
- M. Pearce/Ball (BYU) def. Bates/Fernandez (FGCU) 7-5
Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)
Singles Results
- Hill (BYU) def. Ramirez (FGCU) 7-5, 6-1
- Hsu (BYU) def. Ruiz (FGCU) 6-4, 7-6
- Landert (FGCU) def. S. Tullis (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
- J. Pearce (BYU) def. Escobar (FGCU) 6-0, 6-2
- M. Pearce (BYU) def. Fernandez (FGCU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
- Gajardo (BYU) def. Bates (FGCU) 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: (4, 6, 1, 2, 3, 5)