ANNAPOLIS, Md.--Riding the play of Springbok Aidan Carrazedo, No. 45 BYU men’s tennis clinched another win in dramatic fashion in a 4-3 victory over No. 74 George Washington, Monday at Navy’s Brigade Sports Complex.

 

“To come home 4-0 after two tough road wins against a solid Navy team and a ranked GWU team is what you prepare for and believe can happen,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “Now that it's in the record book, we all feel very proud of what was accomplished here this weekend.”

 

Nearing the end of the match, BYU (4-0) found itself tied 3-3 against GWU (0-1) with the match result hinging on the play of two freshmen. 

 

Playing in the sixth singles spot, the South African Carrazedo broke the tie with a win over Ulrik Thomsen, 6-4, 6-5 (5), clinching the victory for the Cougars. It marks the second time this season Carrazedo won his match to give his team a 4-3 victory, the first being against Utah State.

 

Prior to clinching the match and with BYU down 3-2, Juan Canales knotted the score on his comeback win over Viktor Svensson, 5-6, 6-4, 6-0.

 

BYU commenced the match by taking the doubles point. Junior Francis Sargeant and freshman Sterling Galli won 6-4 over Francisco Dias and Julius Tverijonas to stay unbeaten on the season. Freshmen Matthew Pearce and Jacob Sullivan beat their opponent with a convincing 6-2 win over Svensson and Thomsen.

 

Following the doubles, Sargeant gave the Cougars their second point at first singles with a 6-5, 6-3 victory over Nikita Fomin.

 

GWU then took the next three points as both freshmen Jeremy Bourgeois and Pearce were not able to swing the momentum against their opponents. Pfister also was defeated in his match, falling 6-4, 6-3.

 

BYU will have a day and half to recuperate before leaving for Kentucky to participate in the 2014 ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The first match will be against No. 9 Kentucky, Friday at 1 p.m. EST. 

 

 

 

No. 45 BYU (4-0) def. No. 74 George Washington University (0-1), 4-3

Doubles 

1 - S. Galli / F. Sargeant (BYU) def. F. Dias / J. Tverijonas, 6-4

2 - R. Pfister / J. Bourgeois (BYU) vs. N. Fomin / D. Zelenkov (GWU), 5-5 (3-3), UF

3 - M. Pearce / J. Sullivan (BYU) def. V. Svensson / U. Thomsen, 6-2

Singles

1 - Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Nikita Fomin, 6-5, 6-3

2 - Francisco Dias (GWU) def. Jeremy Bourgeois, 6-1, 6-4

3 - Julius Tverijonas (GWU) def. Robin Pfister, 6-4, 6-3

4 - Daniel Zelenkov (GWU) def. Matthew Pearce, 6-1, 6-3

5 - Juan Canales(BYU) def. Viktor Svensson, 5-6, 6-4, 6-0

6 - Aidan Carrazedo(BYU) def. Ulrik Thomsen, 6-4, 6-5 (5)

PROVO, Utah--On the heels of winning its first two matches of the season, the No. 45 BYU men’s tennis team travels to the East Coast to face Navy and No. 74 George Washington this weekend at Annapolis, Md.

 

The Cougars (2-0) face the Midshipmen at 12 p.m. EST on Saturday. On Monday, the team will be pitted against the Colonials at 10:30 a.m. EST. The matches will be the first time the Cougars have played these two schools.

 

“We’re excited about going to our nation’s capital to be able to play against one of the great service academies in Navy and to follow that with a good school and opponent in George Washington,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “It’s new, fresh and exciting. Our guys prove they are capable of competing against big teams.”

 

BYU is coming off of two season-opening wins versus Weber State and Utah State. Against the Aggies, the match came down to the wire with two freshmen tying the match and clinching it for the Cougars.

 

Matthew Pearce defeated his opponent to help knot the match at 3-3. Then Aidan Carrazedo won four straight games in the third set to beat his opponent, giving BYU the 4-3 win. 

 

The Mountain Region No. 8 singles player, Francis Sargeant, also came through going undefeated last week with two singles and two doubles victories. 

 

Next weekend, BYU is on the road again competing in Kentucky at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.