PROVO, Utah – No. 89 Sean Hill led BYU in a 6-1 victory over Northern Arizona Friday night at the Indoor Tennis Courts.
Hill defeated No. 116 Tim Handel of Northern Arizona 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. After being down 4-0 in the second set, Hill made a comeback to tie it at 4-4 but ultimately lost. He came out with a victory in the third set to win the match.
“I give a lot of credit to NAU—they fought hard,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We got up on them with the doubles point, but they never went away and continued to battle. We had an all-around team effort, and it was a great crowd with fan support. I’d like to see us come out tomorrow and be more aggressive against Boise State.”
BYU (6-0) came out hot in doubles over Northern Arizona (1-1) with the No. 1 slot Hill and Jeffrey Hsu defeating No. 53 duo Handel and Ruben Montano 6-3. Hill and Hsu lost to Handel and Montano in the semifinal round of the regional tournament in October but fought hard to come out on top tonight.
John Pearce and Ben Gajardo earned a solid 6-0 win over Sebastian Eguez and Felix Schumann in the No. 3 doubles slot.
In singles, Sam Tullis defeated Felix Schumann 7-5, 6-3 to lead the Cougars in singles play. Hsu came out on top 6-1, 7-5 over Lucas Taylor. J. Pearce had the clinch with his victory over Thomas Fisher 6-2, 6-7, 6-4. Continuing the BYU momentum, Ben Gajardo defeated Sebastian Eguez 6-4, 6-1 in No. 5 singles. M. Pearce fell short in a match tiebreaker against Ruben Montano, giving the Lumberjacks their only win of the night.
The Cougars host Boise State Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. MST, at the Indoor Tennis Courts. Live stats and live streaming will be available on the men’s schedule page.
Match Results
BYU 6, NAU 1
Doubles Results
- HILL, Sean/HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) def. HANDEL, Tim/MONTANO, Ruben (NAU) 6-3
- PEARCE, John/GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. SCHUMANN, Felix/EGUEZ, Sebastian (NAU) 6-0
- FISHER, Thomas/TAYLOR, Lucas (NAU) vs. PEARCE, Matthew/BALL, David (BYU) 5-4 (DNF)
Order of finish: (2, 1)
Singles Results
- HILL, Sean (BYU) def. HANDEL, Tim (NAU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) def. TAYLOR, Lucas (NAU) 6-1, 7-5
- PEARCE, John (BYU) def. FISHER, Thomas (NAU) 6-2, 6-7, 6-4
- TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. SCHUMANN, Felix (NAU) 7-5, 6-3
- GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. EGUEZ, Sebastian (NAU) 6-4, 6-1
- MONTANO, Ruben (NAU) def. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 1-6, 6-1, 10-7
Order of finish (4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6)
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