No. 48 BYU beats Air Force at home

PROVO, Utah – The No. 48 BYU men’s tennis team topped the Air Force Falcons 6-1 on Saturday night at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.

“I’m proud of our win but maybe more so of how our guys have overcome adversity in the form of a tough schedule,” head coach Brad Pearce said. “We have been on both the east and west coasts playing matches and haven’t had a chance to play at high altitude for two weeks.”

BYU (6-2) improves its overall record to 27-3 against Air Force (3-3).

The Cougars, who are now 3-0 at home, started off strong as all three doubles teams captured wins.

The duo of Patrick Kawka and Francis Sargeant, as well as Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce, improve to 6-1 on the season after their wins against the Falcons.

Two of BYU’s singles victories were decided in straight sets. Sargeant beat Steven Young on court 3, 6-1, 6-2 while freshman Andrey Goryachkov finished out his match quickly 6-1, 6-1 on court 6.

Playing on court 4, Cullimore put up the fourth deciding point on the board as he defeated Alex Grubbs 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

BYU remains at home next Saturday to host conference foe Santa Clara at noon MST at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.

Doubles

1. Kawka/Sargeant (BYU) def. Taylor/Wilhelm 8-3

2. Fillmore/Smith (BYU) def. Jackson/Young 8-3

3. Cullimore/Pearce (BYU) def. Grubbs/Rizvi 8-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. Lance Wilhelm (AF) def. Patrick Kawka (BYU) 7-6, 7-6

2. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Grant Taylor (AF) 6-2, 6-7, 6-1

3. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Steven Young (AF) 6-1, 6-2

4. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) def. Alex Grubbs (AF) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2

5. John Pearce (BYU) def. Andy Jackson (AF) 5-7, 6-4(10-5)

6. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) def. Ali Rizvi (AF) 6-1, 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5