SANTA BARBARA -- After taking the doubles point convincingly, the No.63 BYU men's tennis team (2-1) allowed Santa Barbara (3-0) to rally to a 4-3 victory Monday afternoon. The loss is the first of the regular season for BYU.

The Cougars took control of the match early, and looked to be well on their way, taking all three doubles matches, clinching the doubles point and jumping out to the early 1-0 lead. All three doubles teams played great tennis for BYU, with the biggest victory coming from Chip Hand and Jonathan Sanchez on court No. 2 where they beat Carsten Thorsten and Scott Hohenstein handily 8-3.

With the lead in hand BYU entered the singles matches looking for the same results they had seen in doubles. However, Santa Barbara had no plans of going down easy, as they turned the match into a very competitive battle. The competition was fierce, as demonstrated by the scores; three of the six matches went the full three sets and the match showcased four tiebreakers. BYU pulled out its two singles victories courtesy of James Ludlow and Ivan Kokurin. Ludlow took down Nick Brotman on the No. 1 court 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, while Kokurin beat Max Taylor 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in a three-set thriller of his own. Those wins were not enough, though, and the Gauchos were able to rally and win the deciding match when Anders Dalskov beat Jose Lechuga 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 and walk away with the win.

The Cougars now head to Los Angeles where they will face the No. 5 UCLA Bruins Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m. PST.

No.63 BYU v.s. Santa Barbara
Jan. 23, 2006
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara 4  BYU 3
Singles
1. James Ludlow (BYU) def. Nick Brotman (UCSB) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3
2. Elad Stern (UCSB) def. Chip Hand (BYU) 7-6, 7-6
3. Carsten Thorstensen (UCSB) def. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU)7-6, 6-3
4. Bijan Hijazi (UCSB) def. Jonathon Sanchez (BYU)  6-1, 7-6
5. Anders Dalskov (UCSB) def. Jose Lechuga (BYU)  4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Ivan Kokurin (BYU) def. Max Taylor (UCSB)  6-4, 5-7, 6-1 
Doubles
1. Lechuga/Ludlow (BYU) def. Brotman/Dalskov (UCSB) 8-6
2. Hand/Sanchez (BYU) def. Thorstensen/Scott Hohenstein (UCSB 8-3
3. Kaufkold/Kokurin (BYU) def. Bijazi/Stern (UCSB) 8-5

PROVO, Utah (Jan.23, 2006) -- The No. 63 BYU men's tennis team will stay on the road this week, leaving the ice and snow of Utah for sunny California. The Cougars will compete against Santa Barbara, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 9 Pepperdine during their tour of the West Coast.

The Cougars know what they are up against in facing these perennial powerhouses this early in the season, but Coach Brad Pearce said he is excited to play tough opponents because playing against the best competition makes his team that much better. He said tough early matches will give the team an advantage late in the season and in conference play, as each team in the Mountain West finished last season nationally ranked.

BYU begins play Monday against Santa Barbara, then plays Wednesday against UCLA and faces Pepperdine on Friday. All matches begin at 1:30 PST.