LAS VEGAS — BYU men's tennis came up short at UNLV, falling to the Rebels, 4-3, at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Saturday.

"I'm incredibly disappointed with the loss," BYU head coach Dave Porter said. "We could have won every single match. The weather conditions were above what they should have been to legally play, but we played anyway. The winds were well in excess of 20 miles an hour, which was a big distraction, but we let it bother us and the wind was blowing on both sides, so it's something we should have adjusted to. It was wonderful having Jack Barnett back in the lineup. He won handily in his return to singles. Overall just disappointed, but we'll be back to work and we'll be ready for St. Mary's, a conference match this coming Friday."

The Cougars were ahead early, but the Rebels rallied to earn the doubles point. Anton Ornberg and Jack Atherton beat Sean Hill and Sam Tullis at No. 3 doubles, 6-4. Jordan Sauer and Milos Dabic then defeated Mateo Vereau Melendez and Matheus Ferreira Leite at No. 2 doubles, 7-6 (4) to clinch.

UNLV picked up the first win of singles play as Ornberg beat Melendez, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 4 spot. In his first singles match since Jan. 30, Jack Barnett picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Dabic at No. 3 singles keeping BYU in it. The Rebels then answered in Sauer’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles over Ben Gajardo.

Hill kept it close with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Eric Samuelsson in the No. 1 spot, but Clayton Alenik beat Matheus Ferreira Leite, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 6 singles to earn the fourth point needed to win the match. Tullis then closed out the match with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win in the No. 5 spot.

The Cougars will return home next week for their second conference match of the season, hosting Saint Mary's at the Indoor Tennis Courts on Friday, March 26, at 12 p.m. MDT.

MATCH RESULTS

BYU 3 UNLV 4

Doubles Competition

1. Ben Gajardo/Jack Barnett (BYU) vs. Eric Samuelsson/Clayton Alenik (UNLV), 6-6, uf.

2. Jordan Sauer/Milos Dabic (UNLV) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez/Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU), 7-6 (4)

3. Anton Ornberg/Jack Atherton (UNLV) def. Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (BYU), 6-4

Order of finish: (3, 2)

Singles Competition

1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Eric Samulesson (UNLV), 7-6, 6-3

2. Jordan Sauer (UNLV) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU), 6-4, 4-6, 0-6

3. Jack Barnett (BYU) def. Milos Dabic (UNLV), 6-3, 6-3

4. Anton Ornberg (UNLV) def. Mateo Vereau Melendez (BYU), 6-4, 6-4 

5. Sam Tullis (BYU) vs. Tom Ciszewski (UNLV), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

6. Clayton Alenik (UNLV) def. Matheus Ferreira Leite (BYU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Order of finish: (4, 3, 2, 1, 6, 5)

PROVO, Utah — Riding a three-match win streak, BYU men's tennis travels to Las Vegas to face UNLV at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Saturday, March 20, at 11 a.m. PDT. 

BYU Notes (6-4, 1-0 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 6-4, most recently beating Air Force, 6-1, last weekend
• BYU has wins over Grand Canyon, Weber State, Idaho State, Montana, Santa Clara and Air Force. The Cougars' four losses were at Oregon (twice), to New Mexico at home and at Utah State. 
• The Cougars are led by seniors Sean Hill and Ben Gajardo, who are both 9-1 in singles on the season, and have won their last six singles matches
• Senior Matheus Ferreira Leite has won five-straight singles matches, improving to 5-1 on the year last weekend
• Doubles pairs Sean Hill/Sam Tullis (4-1) and Jack Barnett/Ben Gajardo (3-0) have won three-straight doubles matches

Head Coach - Dave Porter

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1975
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 6-4 (1st Season)
• Record at BYU: Same

BYU Doubles Records

• Matheus Ferreira Leite & Mateo Vereau Melendez (1-4)
• Ben Gajardo & Sam Tullis (3-2)
• Jack Barnett & Sean Hill (2-2)
• Jack Barnett & Mateo Vereau Melendez (0-1)
• Ben Gajardo & Matheus Ferreira Leite (1-1)
• Sean Hill & Sam Tullis (4-1)
• Dominik Jakovljevic & Mateo Vereau Melendez (1-0)
• Jack Barnett & Ben Gajardo (3-0)

BYU Singles Records

• Sean Hill (9-1)
• Ben Gajardo (9-1)
• Sam Tullis (6-4)
• Matheus Ferreira Leite (5-1)
• Dominik Jakovljevic (4-5)
• Mateo Vereau Melendez (3-6)
• Jack Barnett (2-2)
• Vinicius Feijao Nogueira (1-0)
• Alex Lin (0-1)

UNLV Notes (3-8, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)

• The Rebels are 3-8, with their most recent win coming against Weber State, a 5-2 victory on Jan. 30
• UNLV has wins over New Mexico State, Montana, and Weber State. The Rebels' losses are to USC, Cal, Wichita State, Denver, Pepperdine, UCLA, San Diego and Arizona State.
• When the two teams meet, two differing streaks will collide. The Cougars look to extend their three-match winning streak, while the Rebels hope to end a six-match losing streak.
• UNLV returned their entire lineup from last season, and are led by seniors Alex Kobelt and Eric Samuelsson
• The last meeting between BYU and UNLV was on Feb. 13, 2020, in Las Vegas. The Rebels beat the Cougars, 4-1. BYU leads the all-time series, 14-7.

Head Coach - Owen Hambrook

• Alma Mater: Northwest Missouri State, 1991
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 232-176 (18th Season)
• Record at UNLV: Same

Match Information - March 20

• Time: 12 p.m. MDT
• Live Stats: Sidearm Stats