PROVO -- Winning every match of the day, the No. 39 BYU men's tennis team defeated Montana State 7-0 in a dual match Thursday. The win improves the Cougars' record to 7-2 overall.
The Cougars were led by sophomore Gert Vilms. Vilms, who was name the Mountain West Conference men's tennis Player of the Week after his singles and doubles wins over ranked opponents, played the number one singles position for the first time of the season. He defeated Lukasz Mazur 6-2, 6-2. He also teamed with senior Damien Ward to win the number one singles match over B.J. Hauck and Thijs Goossens 8-3.
"This was the first match with Gert playing in the number one position," BYU head coach Jim Osborne said. "He responded well. It will help us if we can have two solid players that can play at number one for us."
BYU was pushed in every match. Three of the six singles matches went three games with the third game being a 10-point tiebreaker, including number two singles. Ward won the match 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (4) over Goossens.
The Cougars will return to Mountain West Conference play Friday when they travel to Utah at face the Utes at 6 p.m.
Singles:1. Vilms (BYU) def. Mazur, 6-2, 6-2
2. Ward (BYU) def. Goossens, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (4)
3. Losee (BYU) def. BJ Hauck, 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (5)
4. Lozano (BYU) def. Tokar, 6-3, 6-2
5. White (BYU) def. K. Hauck, 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (8)
6. Rudjuk (BYU) def. Swanson, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles:
1. Ward/Vilms (BYU) def. BJ Hauck/Goossens, 8-3
2. Losee/Lozano (BYU) def. Mazur/Tokar, 8-6
3. White/Olsen (BYU) def. K. Hauck/Swanson, 8-0
After suffering its first home loss of the season, the BYU men's tennis team will host Montana St. Thursday and will travel to Utah to face the Utes Friday.
The Cougars, currently ranked 40th in the country, will host the Bobcats on Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Indoor Tennis Courts at BYU.
The Utes are currently 4-4 overall and 1-0 in Mountain West Conference play. They also have a 4-0 record in dual matches at home.
The Cougars are coming off a 5-2 loss at the hands of No. 26 Boise State last weekend in Provo.
The highlight of the day for the Cougars was the play of sophomore Gert Vilms. Vilms won his number two singles match against No. 74 Wesley Moodie 6-2, 6-4. He also teamed with senior Damien Ward to win the number one doubles match over 14th-ranked Leif Meineke and Moodie.
The Cougars will return home after the Utah match to host Utah State Mar. 10 at 6 p.m.
Singles Rec Dual Tourney 1 2 3 4 5 6Damien Ward 17-8 3-4 14-4 3-4
Gert Vilms 14-8 4-2 10-6 4-2
Nic Losee 14-8 6-2 8-6 2-0 2-1 2-1
Dave White 13-5 5-3 8-2 1-0 2-0 2-3
Carlos Lozano 18-8 5-3 14-5 2-2 2-1 1-0
Jeff Harbach 6-3 0-0 6-3
Anton Rudjuk 8-6 2-2 6-4 1-1 1-1
Michael Faust 6-4 3-2 3-2 3-2
Jeff Olsen 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1
Doubles Rec Dual Tourney 1 2 3
Ward/Vilms 23-7 6-1 17-6 5-1 1-0
Losee/Lozano 17-5 6-2 11-3 2-0 4-2
White/Olsen 1-3 1-3 0-0 1-3
Rudjuk/Faust 1-2 1-2 0-0
White/Rudjuk 1-2 1-2 0-0 1-2
Ward/White 1-0 1-0 0-0 1-0
Olsen/Rudjuk 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1
