BYU Blanks Utah to Keep Winning Streak Alive

SALT LAKE CITY (April 11, 2002) ? The BYU men?s tennis team dominated in-state rival Utah, 7-0, in Salt Lake City Thursday afternoon to remain undefeated in Mountain West Conference play. BYU (12-7, 3-0) has now won five consecutive matches and 11 of its last 13.

?Utah put up a good fight,? BYU assistant coach Brad Pearce said. ?But I think it was good to see our guys each pull out the win.?

BYU won all three doubles matches by the same score, 8-6. The No. 16-ranked team in the nation of Carlos Lozano and Gert Vilms got things started off at the No. 1 position, defeating the No. 40-ranked team of Mercier/Yip. Nic Losee and Erik Nyman teamed up at No. 2 to defeat Poulson/Carlsson, while Jeff Harbach and Jeff Olsen completed the sweep by knocking off Lohff/Scheepers at No. 3.

The Cougars kept the Utes scoreless in singles play, led by Vilms? three-set victory at No. 1, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Lozano also took three sets to win at No. 2, while Olsen went the distance at No. 5, but came out on top as well. Losee at No. 3, Nyman at No. 4 and Harbach at No.6 all won their matches in straight sets.

?Fortunately, I think our best tennis is still ahead of us,? Pearce said. ?We?re right on track to be peaking at the right time.?

The Cougars take their five-match winning streak and undefeated conference record into Friday?s match against No. 56 UNLV, to be played in Salt Lake City. The Rebels are led by Thomas Schneiter, who just last week upset the No. 1 player in the nation.

BYU completes its regular season Saturday against No. 32 San Diego State, also in Salt Lake City. Oliver Maiberger and Ryan Redondo, the No. 3 doubles team in the nation, lead the Aztecs. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

FINAL RESULTS

DOUBLES

No. 1No. 16 Lozano/Vilms (BYU) def. No. 40 Mercier/Yip (UTAH) 8-6

No. 2 Losee/Nyman (BYU) def. Poulson/Carlsson (UTAH) 8-6

No. 3Harbach/Olsen (BYU) def. Lohff/Scheepers (UTAH) 8-6

BYU WINS DOUBLES POINT

SINGLES

No. 1Gert Vilms (BYU) def. David Mercier (UTAH) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5

No. 2Carlos Lozano (BYU) def. Corrie Scheepers (UTAH) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

No. 3Nic Losee (BYU) def. Nicholas Yip (UTAH) 7-6, 7-6

No. 4Erik Nyman (BYU) def. Tyler Poulson (UTAH) 7-6, 6-3

No. 5Jeff Olsen (BYU) def. Daniel Lohff (UTAH) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

No. 6Jeff Harbach (BYU) def. Tobias Tangberg (UTAH) 6-3, 7-5

BYU WINS MATCH 7-0