BYU Reaches WCC Semifinal

SAN DIEGO – No. 4 seeded BYU men’s tennis team routed No. 8 seed San Francisco, 4-0, in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tennis Championships on Thursday to advance to the semifinals.

"Great intensity and desire the past two matches have given us a great opportunity tomorrow against No. 1 seed Pepperdine," BYU coach Brad Pearce said. "We plan on taking the fight to the No. 7 nationally ranked team tomorrow with everything we've got."

After enduring a three-hour rain delay, the Cougars (16-8) displayed another strong doubles showing. BYU’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Georgy Batrakov and sophomore Patrick Kawka won its eighth-straight match with an 8-2 victory over Thai Tu and William Schmacher.

Junior Spencer Smith and freshman Francis Sargeant edged out the Dons (5-17) on Court 2, 8-6, to grab the doubles point for the Cougars. The final match was not finished because BYU had already secured the point.

Smith jumped out early in singles, posting a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Germain Bahri at No. 2 singles before Sargeant wrapped up his Court 5 match with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

Earning the fourth point for the Cougars, Eraso concluded Thursday play for BYU topping Jacob Hartwig on Court 6, 7-6, 6-0.

Due to BYU’s secured win, the remaining matches were not finished. The Cougars have not dropped a match in the tournament.

Playing in its first WCC Tennis Championships, the BYU faces No. 1 seed Pepperdine in the semifinals Friday at 9:30 a.m. PDT. The match will be Pepperdine’s first this tournament after receiving byes in the first two rounds. No. 2 seed Santa Clara and No. 3 seed San Diego will compete in the other semifinal showdown.

Despite close scores, the Waves grabbed a 6-1 decision over the Cougars earlier this season. 

The winner of the Tennis Championships will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Follow tournament updates at WCC Tennis Tournament Central. 

Men's Second Round
No. 4 BYU def. No. 8 San Francisco, 4-0

Doubles
1. Georgy Batrakov/Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. T. Tu/W. Schmacher (USF) 8-2
2. Francis Sargeant/Spencer Smith (BYU) def. J. Knowlman/G.Bahri (USF) 8-6
3. Keaton Cullimore/Michael Eraso (BYU) vs. R. Bucalem/B. Sariava (USF) DNF

Singles
1. Georgy Batrakov (BYU) vs. Thai Tu (USF) DNF
2. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Germain Bahri (USF) 6-4, 6-1
3. Patrick Kawka (BYU) vs. Bernardo Sariava (USF) DNF
4. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) vs. Will Schumacher (USF) DNF
5. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Richard Bucalem (USF) 6-4, 6-3
6. Michael Eraso (BYU) def. Jacob Hartwig (USF) 7-6, 6-0
Order of finish: 2, 5, 6