ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – The No. 40 BYU men’s tennis team extended its win streak to six matches with a 5-2 win over University of Pacific Friday.
"Today we did what we had to do to win," BYU coach Brad Pearce said. "I thought it was a good preparation match for New Mexico tomorrow. I feel with the conditions here, it's valuable to have a match against good competition and I think we'll be ready for New Mexico tomorrow."
The Cougars (9-5) swept the Tigers (4-6) in doubles. Senior Georgy Batrakov and sophomore Patrick Kawka took an 8-3 decision over their Court 1 opponents, Alex Goulding and Ivan Castro. Playing at the No. 2 doubles position for BYU, senior Spencer Smith and freshman Francis Sargeant topped their opponent 8-2. Freshman Keaton Cullimore and senior Michael Eraso closed out the doubles compeition, taking their match 8-4.
BYU carried its momentum into singles, earning wins on courts 5 and 1. Sargeant won his sixth straight match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Alex Hamilton. No. 54 Batrakov also held his opponent to winning only three games, topping Tomas Krzyzkowski, 6-3, 6-0.
For the second week in a row, Eraso secured BYU’s match win. The senior topped his Court 6 opponent, 6-4, 6-1, to give the Cougars their fourth point.
Despite the loss, the Tigers went on to win on courts 3 and 4 before Kawka wrapped up the match. Playing at the No. 2 position, Kawka fought back after dropping the first set to not allow a single game in the second set. Kawka and Castrao rallied back and forth in the third before Kawka took the tiebreaker, and the match, 4-6, 6-0, 7-6.
BYU takes on regional opponent New Mexico Saturday at noon at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex.
No. 40 BYU – 5
University of Pacific – 2
Doubles
1. Batrakov/Kawka (BYU) def. Golding/Castro (Pacific) 8-3
2. Smith/Sargeant (BYU) def. Krzyszkowski/Mirkin (Pacific) 8-2
3. Cullimore/Eraso (BYU) def. Hamilton/Goncalves Jr. (Pacific) 8-4
Singles
1. No. 54 Georgy Batrakov (BYU) def. Tomas Krzyzkowski (Pacific) 6-3, 6-0
2. Patrick Kawka def. Ivan Castro (Pacific) 4-6, 6-0, 7-6
3. Ben Mirkin (Pacific) def. Spencer Smith (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Alex Golding (Pacific) def. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 7-6, 7-6
5. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Alex Hamilton (Pacific) 6-2, 6-1
6. Michael Eraso (BYU) vs. Valentim Goncalves Jr. (Pacific) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 5, 1, 6, 3, 4, 2
PROVO, Utah –With less than half the season left, the No. 40 BYU men’s tennis team looks to continue its momentum in regional play as it takes on University of Pacific and No. 46 New Mexico on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in New Mexico.
The Cougars (8-5) are on a five-match winning streak and are coming off an upset over regional rival then-No. 35 Boise State.
With the first half of the season over, multiple Cougars have made their mark in the record books.
Georgy Batrakov, ranked No. 54 nationally in singles, holds the fifth-most career singles victories in BYU history with 92. The Russian netter needs two more to tie former teammate Cassidy Mears at the No. 4 spot.
With the best singles record on the team this season, senior Spencer Smith (23-5) is three matches away from cracking the top-20 in most singles victories in a season.
Smith and freshman Francis Sargeant, the No. 2 doubles duo for BYU, sit at the No. 19 spot for most season doubles victories with 17.
The Cougars kick off their next five road matches in New Mexico before returning home to finish the season.
On Friday, BYU faces University of Pacific (4-5), who is coming off a 4-3 win over Nevada. The Cougars topped Nevada, 7-0, in February. The last meeting between BYU and University of Pacific was in March 2011, where the Cougars came away with a 7-0 victory.
BYU reunites with former Mountain West Conference opponent No. 46 New Mexico (10-4) Saturday. The Lobos are coming off a 4-1 win over University of Louisiana-Lafayette, which earned New Mexico the title of the 46th annual HEB Invitational. The Lobos have one ranked doubles duo in No. 37 Phillip Anderson and Jadon Phillips.
The Cougars are 31-20 all-time against the Lobos. BYU came away with a 4-3 decision the last time it faced New Mexico, in April 2011.
Both matches will start at noon on their respective days and be played at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex in Albuquerque, New Mexico.