PROVO -- In a match of two halves, the BYU men's tennis team lost to Oregon 5-2 on Saturday. The Cougars came out and won convincingly in doubles but were unable to overcome the dominant play of the Ducks in singles.
"This was definitely a match of two halves," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "We came out with a lot of energy and played some great doubles. But we just didn't have the same energy and intensity for singles."
For the second match in a row, the Cougars were able to capture the doubles point by winning all three doubles matches. No. 7 ranked Erik Nyman and Carlos Lozano won at No. 1 doubles by beating Oded Teig and Sven Swinnen 8-3. At the No. 2 spot, Jose Lechuga and Anton Rudjuk beat Thomas Bieri and Manuel Kost 8-2. Alonso Medina and Jeff Olsen teamed up at the No. 3 spot to defeat Arron Spencer and Jason Menke 8-5.
Unfortunately, the doubles success didn't carry over into the singles matches. Nyman played at the No. 1 spot and was the only Cougar to win in singles. He prevailed over Teig 6-4, 6-4 in a hard fought match.
"Erik played really well for us today," Osborne said. "I just think the other guys didn't come out with as much intensity as Oregon had in singles. It is nice to get the doubles problem solved, but now it looks like we'll have to work on staying fired up in singles."
The Cougars will be in action next week in Tempe, Ariz. when they face Northern Arizona on Friday and Arizona on Saturday.
Oregon def. BYU, Final Score 5-2
Doubles
1. Lozano/Nyman (BYU) def. Teig/Swinnen (UO) 8-3
2. Lechuga/Rudjuk (BYU) def. Menke/Spencer (UO) 8-2
3. Medina/Olsen (BYU) def. Bieri/Chris King (UO) 8-5
Singles
1. Erik Nyman (BYU) def. Oded Teig (UO) 6-4, 6-4
2. Sven Swinnen (UO) def. Carlos Lozano (BYU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Thomas Bieri (UO) def. Jose Lechuga (BYU) 6-4, 7-6
4. Manuel Kost (UO) def. Alonso Medina (BYU) 6-2, 7-6
5. Arron Spencer (UO) def. Anton Rudjuk (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Jason Menke (UO) def. Jeff Olsen (BYU) 6-4, 6-3