PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior Francis Sargeant gave BYU men’s tennis its only point Saturday when it fell to No. 64 University of Portland 5-1 in West Coast Conference play.

The Pilots (12-5, 5-2) grabbed the doubles point quickly with a 6-0 victory at No. 1 doubles over the Cougar duo of Sargeant and Shane Monroe while Portland’s No. 2 doubles team were victorious in its matchup with Jeremy Bourgeois and Jacob Sullivan to clinch the point.

Sargeant led the charge at No. 1 singles with a win over Steffen Dierauf 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, to give BYU (9-16, 3-5) a point, but the Pilots won at Nos. 2-5 singles to clinch the match. Monroe fell in three sets at No. 2 singles, losing to Reid DeLaubenfels 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The other three matchups were straight-set victories for Portland. Sullivan lost to Michail Pervolarakis 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 singles while his doubles teammate, Bourgeois, fell 6-2, 6-4 to Mathieu Garcia. Garcia’s win clinched the match for the Pilots, but Pierre Garcia pulled out a 6-0, 6-1 win over Juan Canales at No. 6. Aidan Carrazedo was up a set in his matchup when the match was called.

The Cougars return home next week for senior day against WCC-leading San Diego Saturday at 12 p.m. MDT. The match will be the last opportunity for the lone senior Sargeant to play at home as a member of BYU. 

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis hits the road for two crucial West Coast Conference matches at Gonzaga and No. 64 Portland Friday and Saturday.

The Cougars (9-14, 3-3) enter Spokane, Washington, on a five-match losing streak, but three of the five losses have come against teams ranked in the top 50 including No. 2 Baylor. BYU is in the middle of the pack in the WCC in fifth place as the conference slate begins to wind down. With conference leader San Diego visiting Provo next week, the Cougars hope to use this weekend to build some momentum.

The Zags (9-7, 1-4) have lost three consecutive matches in conference, falling to Pacific, Saint Mary’s and Portland. Gonzaga is led by junior Alvaro Nazal at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles and currently sit in eighth in the WCC standings.

The Pilots (11-4, 4-1) trail only San Diego in the WCC standings and will host the Toreros Friday before facing the Cougars on Saturday. So far Portland has only lost to Pacific in conference and has yet to drop a match at home. The Pilots are led by Steffen Dierauf at No. 1 singles and doubles. Dierauf is coming off a 6-1, 6-2 win over Nazal last week.

After the weekend’s away matches, the Cougars return home to host San Diego on April 18 for senior day.