BOSTON – The BYU men’s tennis team came up short 4-3 against Harvard on Friday afternoon in the Beren Tennis Center.

“I was so proud of the way we bounced back from a tough loss in coming out and securing the doubles point and battling to within a couple of points of beating a really good team on their home courts,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “There was some great tennis played today at a number of positions, so it was very encouraging. We’ll regroup and play with even more confidence tomorrow.”

The Cougars (1-3) started out strong against the Crimson (2-1) by claiming the doubles point.

BYU duo Matheus Ferreira Leite and Jack Barnett pulled out a quick 6-0 win over Logan Weber and Robertas Wrzesinski at No. 3 singles. Cougar pair Ben Gajardo and Sam Tullis defeated Steven Sun and Harris Walker 6-4 at the No. 2 position.

Heading into the singles portion of the match, the Cougars grabbed wins at the No. 5 and No. 1 positions.

Barnett matched up with Wrzensinski at the fifth position and finished the match strong after playing out three sets at 7-6, 1-6, 6-2. Sean Hill also pulled out a three-set victory at No. 1, when he defeated Brian Shi 7-5, 6-7, 6-1, earning the third and final point for the Cougars.

Harvard went on to earn all four of its points during singles play.

At second singles, Melendez battled it out but came up short 2-6, 1-6 against Ronan Jachuck. Leite fell 1-6, 3-6 to Henry Von Der Schulenburg at the No. 3 position. Gajardo dropped his match at the No. 4 spot 3-6, 4-6, to Walker. After taking set one, Tullis fell in three sets to Sun, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7.

Tomorrow, BYU remains at Beren Tennis Center to take on Minnesota at 11 a.m. EST.

Results

Singles

1. Sean Hill def. Brian Shi, 7-5, 6-7, 6-1

2. Ronan Jachuck def. Mateo Vereau Melendez, 6-2, 6-1

3. Henry von der Schulenburg def. Matheus Ferreira Leite, 6-1, 6-3

4. Harris Walker def. Ben Gajardo, 6-3, 6-4

5. Jack Barnett def. Robert Wrzesinski, 7-6, 1-6, 6-2

6. Steven Sun def. Sam Tullis, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6*, 1

*clinching match

Doubles

1. Jachuck/Shi vs. Hill/Vereau Melendez, 5-5 DNF

2. Gajardo/Tullis def. Sun/Walker, 6-4

3. Leite/Barnett def. Weber/Wrzesinski, 6-0

Order of Finish: 3, 2

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s tennis team continues to play on the road as they face Harvard and Minnesota on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Cougars first take on Harvard on Friday, Jan. 24, at 12 p.m. EST and they face Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. EST. Both matches will be held in Boston, Mass. at the Beren Tennis Center.

BYU

BYU is coming off a 4-3 win over George Washington University and losses to No. 11 UCLA and Old Dominion.

Harvard

The Crimson swept both Purdue and Army 7-0, to kick off the season. With only two previous matchups, the Cougars hold an even 1-1 record against Harvard.

Minnesota

Meeting the Gophers only one other time in 2014, Minnesota holds the record advantage over BYU with the single win. The Gophers are coming off a win over Marquette University and will face the Cougars on a neutral site.

The results will be updated following both matches on the men’s tennis schedule page.​