Overall team effort helps BYU defeat Gonzaga 4-1

PROVO, Utah – An overall team effort helped BYU men’s tennis defeat West Coast Conference opponent Gonzaga 4-1 Friday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

"I thought Gonzaga did a nice job of coming in and preparing — they are a great team," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "It was a tough match, and I'm pleased that we prevailed. It is a challenging weekend with a rivalry match after an important WCC match, but I thought our guys handled it well. They did a great job of taking it one match at a time and not looking beyond the mark. I'm happy to get another home win, and we're looking forward to tomorrow." 

The Cougars (13-2, 3-0 WCC) quickly won in No. 1 doubles against the Bulldogs (7-5, 0-2 WCC). Undefeated duo Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu earned a 6-2 win over Vincent Rettke and Kyle Everly. Sam Tullis and David Ball dropped their match against Emilio Moreno and Ruadhan O’Sullivan 6-4 in No. 3 doubles. With BYU and Gonzaga tied at a match a piece, the Cougars claimed the doubles point with a close 7-6 win from John Pearce and Ben Gajardo over Matthew Perkins and Hunter Egger in No. 2 doubles.

Up 1-0, BYU won three-consecutive singles matches. Hill defeated O’Sullivan 6-0, 6-3 in No. 1 singles, while teammate Tullis earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Egger in No. 3 singles. Gajardo, who is undefeated in singles, solidified the Cougar win with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Emilio Moreno (No. 4 singles), giving BYU its fourth win of the day.

Gonzaga’s Vincent Rettke defeated Hsu 6-3, 6-3 in No. 2 singles to earn the Bulldog’s their first win, concluding the match with a final score of 4-1.

The Cougars head to Salt Lake City to play against in-state rival Utah on Saturday, March 24, at 2 p.m. MST at the Eccles Tennis Center. BYU returns home Monday, March 26, at 1 p.m. MDT to host UNLV. The match will be played at the Outdoor Tennis Courts, weather permitting. Live stats will be available on the men’s schedule page.

Match Results

BYU  4, Gonzaga 1

Doubles Results

1. HILL, Sean/HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) def. RETTKE, Vincent/EVERLY, Kyle (Gonzaga) 6-2
2. PEARCE, John/GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. PERKINS, Matthew/EGGER, Hunter (Gonzaga) 7-6(1)
3. MORENO, Emilio/O’SULLIVAN, Ruadhan (Gonzaga) def. TULLIS, Sam/BALL, David (BYU) 6-4

Order of finish: (1, 3, 2)

Singles Results

1. HILL, Sean (BYU) def. O’SULLIVAN, Ruadhan (Gonzaga) 6-0, 6-3
2. RETTKE, Vincent (Gonzaga) def. HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) 6-3, 6-3
3. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) def. EGGER, Hunter (Gonzaga) 6-4, 6-3
4. GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. MORENO, Emilio (Gonzaga) 6-3, 6-2
5. EVERLY, Kyle (Gonzaga) def. BALL, David (BYU) 7-6(2) (DNF)
6. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) vs. PERKINS, Matthew (Gonzaga)

Order of finish: (1, 3, 4, 2)

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