Wake Forest Tennis Center
Winston-Salem NC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 68 BYU upset No. 37 Old Dominion 4-2 at the ITA Kickoff weekend Saturday afternoon.
“That was a very good team we beat today,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “And I thought it was an exceptionally clean match, with all of the players on both teams putting everything out there and making it about tennis. I credit coaches and players from both teams for making it that kind of match. I was especially pleased with our doubles play, and a two-win match for three of our players that won both their doubles and singles matches."
The Cougars (4-2) started off strong as they claimed the doubles point over the Monarchs (2-2). No. 19 doubles duo Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu defeated Old Dominion’s Aziz Kijamentovic and Francois Musitelli 6-3 in the No. 1 spot. Shortly after in No. 2 doubles, BYU’s Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo earned a 6-3 victory over Luca Maldoner and Jannik Giesse.
Matthew Pearce and Mateo Vereau Melendez took Nicola Vidal and Oliver Tobisch to 5-3 before the match was suspended.
Old Dominion earned the first two singles points. Giesse topped Tullis 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 3 spot before Kijametovic earned the Monarch’s second and last point in the No. 1 spot, defeating Hill 6-4, 6-4.
BYU battled back and won its next three singles matches. In the No. 5 spot, Gajardo topped Federico Rebecchini 6-3, 7-5 and Pearce followed with a close 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Tobisch at No. 6 singles.
Hsu earned the fourth and final point for BYU when he topped No. 74 Musitelli 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 2 singles pairing, ending the dual match with a 4-2 Cougar win.
“It’s a very good sign when we have different players stepping up to clinch matches and give us significant wins,” B. Pearce added. “We’re looking forward to Utah State this Thursday in Logan.”
The Cougars will travel to Logan to face in-state rival Utah State on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. MDT.
MATCH RESULTS
BYU 4, ODU 2
DOUBLES RESULTS
- Aziz Kijametovic (ODU) def. Sean Hill (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
- Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. #74 Francois Musitelli (ODU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Jannik Giesse (ODU) def. Sam Tullis (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
- Nicola Vidal (ODU) vs. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-4, 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
- Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Federico Rebecchini (ODU) 6-3, 7-5
- Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. Oliver Tobisch (ODU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: (1, 2)
SINGLES RESULTS
- #19 Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) def. #21 Aziz Kijametovic/Francois Musitelli (ODU) 6-3
- Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Luca Maldoner/Jannik Giesse (ODU) 6-3
- Nicola Vidal/Oliver Tobisch (ODU) vs. Matthew Pearce/Mateo Vereau (BYU) 3-5, unfinished
Order of finish: (3, 1, 5, 6, 2, 4)
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PROVO, Utah – No. 68 BYU men's tennis heads back to the east coast to play No. 1 Wake Forest at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in North Carolina, Friday.
BYU (3-1) faces Wake Forest (3-0) on Friday, Jan. 25, at 5 p.m. EDT. The matches will be held at the Wake Forest Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
At this year's ITA Kick-Off Weekend the Cougars will also play either No. 26 Memphis or No. 37 Old Dominion on Saturday.
The winner of the BYU/Wake Forest match will play the winner of the Memphis/Old Dominion match at 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Jan. 26. The losers will face each other at 2 p.m. EDT.
No. 68 BYU
The Cougars went 1-1 last week upsetting No. 61 Florida Atlantic 4-2 and then dropping a close match to No. 66 UNC-Wilmington 3-4. BYU's No. 1 doubles duo of Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu is ranked 19th in the nation.
No. 1 Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons are undefeated on the season with a 3-0 record and they have four ranked singles players. Petros Chrysochos is ranked No. 1 nationally. Bar Botzer comes in at No. 25, while teammate Melios Efstathiou is ranked No. 39. Rounding out the ranked players for Wake Forest is Rrezart Cungu, who is ranked 80th nationally.
No. 26 Memphis
The Tigers have an experienced team with six upperclassmen. They've compiled a 4-0 record on the year. Memphis has wins over Northwestern, Belmont and Jackson State twice.
No. 37 Old Dominion
The Monarchs, who are 1-0 on the year have two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles duo. In singles, Francois Musitelli is No. 74 and Aziz Kijametovic is No. 94. Musitelli and Kijametovic team up together as the No. 21 doubles team.
Live video streaming will only be available for the matches that Wake Forest plays in. Live stats are available on the men’s tennis schedule. Results will be updated following the matches.
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Fans can keep up with the latest on Cougar tennis by following us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/byumenstennis), Twitter (@BYU_Mens_Tennis) and Instagram (@byumtennis).