COLORADO SPRINGS -- The BYU men's tennis team (9-10) improved its MWC conference record to 3-1 on Friday by beating the Air Force Academy 5-2. The Cougars' victory over the Falcons marks only the fourth time that Air Force has been beaten all year.
The match started with the Cougars claiming the doubles point by winning two of the three doubles matches. Anton Rudjuk and Jose Lechuga beat Justin Mancinelli and Shannon Buck 8-5 at No. 2 while Alonso Medina and Jeff Olsen defeated Chris Dong and Martin Black 8-4 at No. 4.
In singles, the Cougars lost at the top and last spots but won all four matches in between. Carlos Lozano defeated Erik Pittman 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 at the No. 2 spot while Lechuga beat Tyler McClung 7-5, 6-4 at No. 3. Olsen and Rudjuk were the other Cougars to win in singles.
The Cougars will conclude both the regular season play and MWC play tomorrow when they face No. 55 New Mexico. They will then have next week off to prepare for the MWC tournament, which will be held in Provo from April 24 through the 26.
No. 68 BYU def. AFA, 5-2Singles
1. Shannon Buck (AFA) def. Erik Nyman (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Carlos Lozano (BYU) def. Eric Pittman (BYU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
3. Jose Lechuga (BYU) def. Tyler McClung (AFA) 7-5, 6-4
4. Jeff Olsen (BYU) def. Justin Mancinelli (AFA) 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
5. Anton Rudjuk (BYU) def. Chris Dong (AFA) 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-6(1)
6. Trevor Johnson (AFA) def. Alonso Medina (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Pittman/McClung (AFA) def. Lozano/Nyman (BYU) 8-6
2. Lechuga/Rudjuk (BYU) def. Mancinelli/Buck (AFA) 8-5
3. Medina/Olsen (BYU) def. Dong/Black (AFA) 8-4
PROVO -- The BYU men's tennis team (8-10) are on the road in Colorado Springs this week as they conclude the regular season against Air Force and No. 55 New Mexico. The Cougars currently have a 2-1 record in MWC play.
BYU comes into the match after winning two big conference matches last weekend. The Cougars beat Utah 4-3 on Thursday and UNLV 4-1 on Saturday. BYU lost a close match to No. 34 San Diego State, but will be looking to get a second seed in the upcoming MWC tournament by winning both matches this weekend.
"These last two matches are really important for us," said BYU head coach Jim Osborne. "With only six teams in the conference, it's always nice to finish the regular season as one of the top two teams so that you don't have to play in the first round of the tournament. We are just going to focus on the doubles point and play hard in singles."
Air Force comes into the match with an impressive 17-3 overall record and a 1-1 conference record. The Falcons have been off for two weeks and will be ready to face the Cougars.
New Mexico is currently ranked 55th in the nation and has a 9-5 record and is a perfect 2-0 in conference play. They recently had big wins over No. 34 SDSU and UNLV and will be looking to close out the regular season going undefeated in conference play. They will play Utah, BYU and Air Force this weekend.
After this weekend, the Cougars will have a week off as they prepare for the MWC tournament, which will be held in Provo from April 24 through the 26.
