PROVO -- After defeating No. 5 Utah on Thursday in Salt Lake City, the fourth-seeded BYU men's tennis team surprised No. 1 seeded San Diego State, 4-1, on Friday to advance to the championship match of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Saturday.
The match began with BYU losing at the top spot in doubles. Gert Vilms and Carlos Lozano lost to Oliver Maiberger and Adam Webster. But, Jeff Olsen and Jeff Harbach won at the two spot and Eric Nyman and Matt Stohl won at the three spot to claim the doubles point.
Vilms and Lozano reversed their fortunes in singles, taking the victories at the one and two spots to give the Cougars their second and third points. Vilms defeated Maiberger, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), and Lozano defeated Valentino Pest, 6-4, 6-4.
The final Cougar point came at the No. 5 spot, where Michael Gysens defeated Travis Hasson, 6-1,6-1. The victory evens the season series at one a piece. San Diego State defeated BYU, 5-2, in California earlier in the year.
BYU advances to the championship match where they will face the No. 3 seed UNLV Rebels. The match will be held at 2 p.m.
MATCH # 4 - 1:00 p.m.No. 1 San Diego State vs. No. 4 Brigham Young
BYU 4 San Diego State 1
DOUBLES
#1 Maiberger/Webster vs Vilms/Lozano (DNF) SDSU
#2 Olsen/Harbach def. Hasson/Bere 8-3 BYU
#3 Nyman/Stohl def. Pest/Naffa 8-3 BYU
SINGLES
#1 Gert Vilms def. Oliver Maiberger 6-3,4-6,7-6(4) BYU
#2 Carlos Lozano def. Valentino Pest 6-4, 6-4 BYU
#3 Adam Webster def. Eric Nyman 6-2,6-4 SDSU
#4 Shawn Hiatt vs. Anton Rudjuk (DNF)
#5 Michael Gysens def. Travis Hasson 6-1,6-1 BYU
#6 Matt Bere vs. Jeff Harbach (DNF)
