PROVO, Utah – No. 27 BYU men’s tennis defeated The Air Force Academy 7-0, extending its winning streak to 6-0, Friday evening at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.
“We always expect Air Force's team to come out and fight hard because they’re well-coached and well-disciplined,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “I feel good that we were able to get another win. We can’t afford to take any team lightly, so we prepare well for every single match we play.”
The Cougars (9-2) came out tough and claimed the doubles point over the Falcons (8-5). No. 23 Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu quickly took down Tadhg Collins and Patrick Sklenka 6-1 in the No. 1 spot. With a race to the finish between No. 2 and 3, Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo pulled through at No. 2 doubles with a 6-3 win.
BYU’s momentum continued into the singles matches as Hill handily defeated Sklenka 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Tullis followed at No. 4 singles with a steady 6-2, 6-2 victory over Collins.
No. 3 singles finished when Hsu topped Luke Sanderson 6-1, 6-4. Mateo Vereau Melendez was not far behind with his 6-4, 6-2 win against Air Force’s Paul Hendrix, putting the Cougars up 5-0.
Matthew Pearce and Gajardo earned the final points for BYU. At No. 5 singles, Pearce pulled a 6-2, 6-2 victory over James Scotty and Gajardo finished the Cougar sweep by defeating Robert Baylong 6-3, 7-6.
The Cougars remain at home to take on Denver on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. MDT at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. Results will be updated on the men’s tennis schedule.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 7, Air Force 0
DOUBLES RESULTS
- Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. Tadhg Collins/Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 6-1
- Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Robert Baylon/Paul Hendrix (AFA) 6-3
- Mateo Vereau/Matthew Pearce (BYU) vs. Isaac Perez/Jordan Azuma (AFA) 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: (1, 2)
SINGLES RESULTS
- Sean Hill (BYU) def. Patrick Sklenka (AFA) 6-1, 6-2
- Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. Luke Sanderson (AFA) 6-1, 6-4
- Mateo Vereau (BYU) def. Paul Hendrix (AFA) 6-4, 6-2
- Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Tadhg Collins (AFA) 6-2, 6-2
- Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Robert Baylon (AFA) 6-3, 7-6
- Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. James Scotty (AFA) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: (1, 4, 2, 3, 6, 5)
Additional Coach Pearce Quotes
“I feel fortunate that we were able to get a good win. I was excited that we were able to get a lot of the team playing tonight, which was good for us. It was satisfying to have our fifth and six singles fully complete a match. In addition, we had our seven and eight play in exhibition matches. We also had four doubles, so we basically had everybody that could play today. I think that was a real plus for tonight.”
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