NEW ORLEANS – Freshman Shane Monroe continued his hot start to the season Monday but BYU came up just short against No. 62 Tulane at the Pepsi City Park Tennis Center in New Orleans.   

"We played much better today against a ranked opponent in Tulane," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "We increased our chances by winning the doubles point, but couldn't get enough singles players to step up today to secure the win. Shane Monroe and David Ball did a great job stepping up and getting it done."

The Cougars jumped out to a quick lead in the match by taking the doubles point. The duo of Robin Pfister and Jeremy Bourgeois beat Dominik Koepfer and Chi-Shan Jao 6-4 while David Ball and Jacob Sullivan also won 6-4 in their match against Sebastian Ray and Ian Van Cott. Francis Sargeant and Andrey Goryachkov were tied 5-5 when their match was called.

Tulane bounced right back in singles competition, taking the three first matches to grab a 3-1 lead. Goryachkov was beaten in straight sets by Ray 6-1, 6-1 and Bourgeois fell to Constantin Schmitz 7-5, 6-0. Sargeant lost in straight sets to Koepfer, who is ranked as the No. 9 singles player in the nation.

Monroe played in the No. 2 singles spot again and got the Cougars back on the board by beating Alex Van Cott in straight sets 7-6, 6-1.  Ball was also victorious in a matchup with Ian Van Cott, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 but Sullivan lost on court five to Jao 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the match for the Green Wave.

The Cougars return home after splitting their two dual matches on the road this weekend. Their next match is a home showdown with Air Force on Saturday, January 24 at 5:30 p.m. MST.

PROVO, Utah – Cougar men’s tennis heads out on the road for their first road tests of the young season. BYU travels to New Orleans to face the University of New Orleans, Saturday and Tulane University on Monday.

“We are excited about the opportunity to play two teams we have never played before in the historic city of New Orleans,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We have been working hard since our home opener and hope to see some improvement in our play.”

The Cougars will look to bounce back from a disappointing home split in last weekend’s home opener. BYU beat Weber State 6-1 but fell to Utah State 4-3. Freshman, Shane Monroe led the Cougars on the day with victories at No. 1 singles in both matches. Andrey Goryachkov also tallied two victories Saturday, coming from behind in both to win in the third set. The Cougars were also able to capture the doubles point in both matches.

This is the first meeting between BYU and both of this weekend’s opponents and will be a good measurement for the progression of this season’s squad. The Cougars return home Saturday, January 24 to host Air Force at the BYU indoor tennis courts.