Men’s tennis earns 4-1 win over Pepperdine to conclude regular-season play

PROVO, Utah – The BYU men’s tennis team concluded regular-season play with a 4-1 win over Pepperdine Saturday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Courts.

"First, credit Pepperdine on today's match because they have a lot of great players," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "The goal for today's match was to come out firing on all cylinders, and I felt like we got that. Every guy on the court today came out ready to go, mentally engaged and playing to win. In our conference every match is tough, there are no easy matches and so I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish."

BYU (18-6, 7-2 WCC) battled against Pepperdine (6-15, 2-5 WCC) in doubles to win the point. John Pearce and Matthew Pearce earned a 6-3 victory against Dennis Uspensky and Yusuf Khamis. The Waves answered with Dane Esses and Lautaro Pane defeating Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu 6-4.

With both teams split, the doubles point came down the No. 2 slot. Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo earned a 7-5 win over Brian Berdusco and Max Mendelsohn to help the Cougars claim the point moving into singles.

Jeffrey Hsu finished with a quick 6-3, 6-0 win over Yusuf in the No. 2 slot to give BYU its first singles win of the day. Gajardo defeated Berdusco 6-2, 7-6 in No. 5 singles to put the Cougars up 3-0 over the Waves. Tullis dropped his match against Esses (7-6, 4-6, 6-3) in the No. 3 slot, giving Pepperdine its only victory.

Hill clinched the 4-1 BYU win in a three-set victory (6-4, 6-7, 6-4) in No. 1 singles against Uspensky.

BYU will return to the courts to compete in the West Coast Conference Tournament, Apr. 25-28, at the Biszantz Tennis Center in Claremont, California. Tournament information will be posted to the men’s schedule page when announced.

Match Results

BYU 4, Pepperdine 1

Doubles Results

1. ESSES, Dane/PANE, Lautaro (PEPP) def. HILL, Sean/HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) 6-4
2. TULLIS, Sam/GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. BERDUSCO, Brian/MENDELSOHN, Max (PEPP) 7-5
3. PEARCE, John/PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) def. USPENSKY, Dennis/KHAMIS, Yusuf (PEPP) 6-3

Order of finish: (3, 1, 2)

Singles Results

1. HILL, Sean (BYU) def. USPENSKY, Dennis (PEPP) 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
2. HSU, Jeffrey (BYU) def. KHAMIS, Yusuf (PEPP) 6-3, 6-0
3. ESSES, Dane (PEPP) def. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
4. GAJARDO, Ben (BYU) def. BERDUSCO, Brian (PEPP) 6-2, 7-6
5. PEARCE, John (BYU) vs. PANE, Lautaro (PEPP) 2-6, 5-5 (DNF)
6. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) vs. MENDELSOHN, Max (PEPP) 6-1, 1-0 (DNF)

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

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