No. 39 BYU plays its last two matches on the road

PROVO, Utah – With the WCC regular season title on the line, the No. 39 BYU men’s tennis team plays No. 8 Pepperdine on Friday and Loyola Marymount on Saturday on the road.

 

The Cougars face the Waves at 3 p.m. PDT on Friday in Malibu, Calif., and then play the Lions at noon PDT on Saturday in Los Angeles.

 

BYU (19-4, 6-0 West Coast Conference) and Pepperdine are both undefeated in conference play.  If the Cougars win both matches this weekend, they would clinch the conference title. A win over Pepperdine and a loss to Loyola Marymount would give both BYU and Pepperdine a share of the title.

 

The Cougars enter this weekend on an eight-match win streak. Four of those wins have come against nationally ranked teams.

 

In singles play, No. 38 Patrick Kawka shares a team-high 18 wins with his doubles partner Francis Sargeant. Kawka has won four consecutive matches and eight of his last nine. Sargeant similarly has won seven of his last eight.

 

Another set of doubles partners, Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce, are also producing in singles play. Cullimore is currently riding an 11-match win streak and is the winner of 14 of his last 15 matches. Pearce has claimed six of his last seven matches, including his last three consecutive matchups.

 

The duo of Kawka and Sargeant are ranked No. 84 nationally and boast a 14-5 record on the season. At the No. 3 doubles position, Cullimore and Pearce have earned a 14-7 mark this year.

 

Pepperdine (21-5, 7-0 WCC) narrowly lost to No. 2 UCLA last week 4-3. The Waves feature four nationally ranked players, including No. 9 Sebastian Fanselow.

 

Loyola Marymount  (4-17, 2-5 WCC) are 2-5 at home this year, including a 5-2 victory over Saint Mary’s on April 13. 

 

Live stats for Friday’s match can be followed on Pepperdine’s website.

 

The WCC Tournament begins next week in San Diego.