PROVO, Utah — BYU men's tennis won their third straight match Friday, defeating Air Force 6-1 at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.
"It was nice to play Air Force Academy," BYU head coach Dave Porter said. "They're a quality team, they're gentlemen, they play hard and they never give up. I felt like we did some very good things today, and a little better in some ways than last week, and that's the goal is to get a little better every week. We're excited and look forward to going to UNLV next weekend."
The Cougars got off to a good start, quickly earning the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Jack Barnett and Ben Gajardo beat Paul Hendrix and Jamie Bautista, handily in the 1 slot, 6-3. Tight early, Sean Hill and Sam Tullis pulled away to earn a 6-3 win over Justin Waldman and Jonathan Mascagini in the 3 slot, clinching the doubles point for BYU.
Hill dominated at No. 1 singles, beating Hendrix, 6-1, 6-2. After getting down early, Mateo Vereau Melendez rallied to win 7-5, 7-5, at No. 4 singles. Tullis fought hard at No. 2 singles, but suffered a tough 6-7 (8), 6-7 (5) loss, bringing the match score to 3-1, BYU, with three matches remaining.
At No. 2 singles, Gajardo beat Waldman in a tight one, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, earning the win for the Cougars. Moments later, Matheus Ferreira Leite earned a win at No. 5 singles, beating Jordan Azuma, 6-4, 6-2. In his first match this season, Vinicius Feijao Nogueira beat Sean McKendree 6-3, 7-5, for a win at No. 6 singles, giving BYU a 6-1 victory.
The Cougars will hit the road next weekend, visiting UNLV at the Frank & Vicki Fertitta Tennis Complex on Saturday, March 20, at 11 a.m. PDT.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 6 Air Force 1
Doubles Competition
1. Jack Barnett/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Paul Hendrix/Jamie Bautista (AFA), 6-3
2. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) vs. Robert Baylon/Jordan Azuma (AFA), 3-5, uf.
3. Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Justin Waldman/Jonathan Mascagini (AFA), 6-3
Order of finish: (1, 3)
Singles Competition
1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Paul Hendrix (AFA), 6-1, 6-2
2. Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Justin Waldman (AFA), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
3. Jonathan Mascagni (AFA) def. Sam Tullis (BYU), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5)
4. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU) def. Robert Baylon (AFA), 7-5, 7-5
5. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU) def. Jordan Azuma (AFA), 6-4, 6-2
6. Vinicius Feijao Nogueira (BYU) def. Sean McKendree (AFA), 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: (1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 6)