LAS VEGAS -- Recording another impressive win against a ranked conference opponent, the No. 36 BYU men’s tennis team pulled off a 5-2 victory against No. 52 UNLV Thursday at the International Tennis Center.
“It was a tough match against a good team,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “I was very pleased with our wins at every position in doubles.”
The Cougars (15-4, 2-0) are undefeated in conference so far and increased their record against ranked opponents to 7-2 with the win against UNLV (12-9, 1-2).
Georgy Batrakov and Thomas Shubert at the No. 1 position and Evan Urbina and Patrick Kawka at the No. 2 position won their respective doubles matches 8-5. Batrakov and Shubert’s win against Mehdi Bouras and Johannes Markel increased the duo’s winning streak to 10 and upheld their undefeated status. Spencer Smith of Salt Lake City and Roman Warias defeated Alex Bull and Kasper Konyves 8-3 on Court 3.
Batrakov furthered his singles winning streak to 14 matches with a win on Court 2 against Markel (6-3, 6-0) and Smith defeated Tamas Batyi 6-3, 6-4. Thomas Shubert clinched the match in defeating Bernard Schoeman 6-3, 6-4.
After an impressive win in the tiebreaker against TCU, No. 116 Kawka, a Las Vegas native, added a 6-7, 7-6 1-0 (10-7) win against Rebel Rene Ruegamer to his record, giving BYU its fifth and last point.
No. 58 Bouras of UNLV defeated Urbina 7-6, 6-2 for UNLV’s first point and Warias fell 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8) to Bull.
Saturday, the Cougars take on San Diego State in California at 11 a.m.
No. 36 BYU vs. No. 52 UNLV
BYU-5 UNLV-2
Singles
1. #58 Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Evan Urbina (BYU) 7-6, 6-2
2. Georgy Batrakov (BYU) def. Johannes Markel (UNLV) 6-3, 6-0
3. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Tamas Batyi (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4
4. #116 Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Rene Ruegamer (UNLV) 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-7)
5. Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. Bernard Schoeman (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4
6. Alex Bull (UNLV) def. Roman Warias (BYU) 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8)
Doubles
1. Georgy Batrakov/Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. Mehdi Bouras/Johannes Markel (UNLV) 8-5
2. Evan Urbina/Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Rene Ruegamer/Bernard Schoeman (UNLV) 8-5
3. Roman Warias/Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Alex Bull/Kasper Konyves (UNLV) 8-3