CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On the second day of competition at the HEB Tournament of Champions, the No. 30 BYU men’s tennis team finished sixth as they fell to South Alabama 4-1 on Saturday.
The Jaguars (6-6) took the doubles point after winning on Courts 1 and 2. Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce got the first BYU victory of the day as they defeated Blake Gregor and Juan Trogila 8-2 on Court 3.
No. 50 duo Patrick Kawka and Francis Sargeant came closee to earning a win in their 9-7 loss at the hands of Daniel Leitner and Gerhard Gruindelingh on Court 1.
The lone point for BYU (11-4) came as Cullimore topped Trogila 6-2, 6-3 on Court 4 in singles play.
On Court 3, Sargeant narrowly lost to Alex Bernard 7-5, 7-5. Senior Spencer Smith and freshman Andrey Goryachkov also came up short their respective matches.
The Cougars look to bounce back from their loss Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST when they host conference foe San Diego.
Doubles
1. Leitner/Gruindelingh (USA) def. Kawka/Sargeant (BYU) 9-7
2. Bernard/Vaezzadeh (USA) def. Fillmore/Smith (BYU) 8-4
3. Cullimore/Pearce (BYU) def. Gregor/Trogila (USA) 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Patrick Kawka (BYU) vs. Daniel Leitner (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 1-1 (DNF)
2. Alex Bernard (USA) def. Spencer Smith (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Gerhard Gruindelingh (USA) def. Francis Sargeant (BYU) 7-5, 7-5
4. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) def. Juan Trogila (USA) 6-2, 6-3
5. Shayann Vaezzadeh (USA) def. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
6. John Pearce (BYU) vs. Blake Gregor (USA) 7-6(1), 3-6, 1-0 (DNF)
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 3