SALT LAKE CITY – Senior Francis Sargeant and freshman Shane Monroe led BYU on day one of the Utah Intercollegiate Invitational in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Both Cougars advanced into Friday’s semifinals of the Flight A singles bracket.
“Any and all matches are great for our guys right now, especially for the freshmen,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We are looking forward to tomorrow’s matches.”
After first-round byes, both Sargeant and Monroe won their second-round matchups with players from Utah State to advance. Sargeant beat Jack Swindells 6-4, 6-4 while Monroe ousted Karan Salwan 6-4, 6-3. The two Cougars will face off in the semifinals Friday at 12:30 p.m. MDT.
Sophomore Juan Canales was also in action in Flight A Thursday but lost to Utah's Matt Cowley 6-3, 6-1 in his first-round match. He will play Friday in the consolation bracket at 11 a.m. against Marcus Fritz of Utah State.
Freshman David Ball and sophomore Jeremy Bourgeois were also on the court Thursday, competing in Flight B. Ball lost to Louis-Phillipe Gascon of Utah 6-1, 6-4, and Bourgeois fell to Tomas Cosmai of Utah State 6-2, 6-4. Both will compete in the consolation bracket Friday at 11 a.m. playing Johan Jonhagen of Utah and Jaime Barajas of Utah State, respectively.
BYU also participated in doubles competition Thursday. Canales and Bourgeois were victorious in their first-round match against Gascon and Jonhagen, winning 8-5. They advance to the quarterfinals Friday at 9 a.m. Sargeant and Ball also advanced to the quarterfinals by way of a first-round bye and will play at 9 a.m. Playing with Barajas, Monroe was on the losing end of his doubles match, falling 8-4.
The Cougars are in action Friday and Saturday during the Utah Intercollegiate as they prepare for the USTA/ITA Regional Championships next weekend in Las Vegas.