Cougars Head to the Northwest for Two Road Matches

PROVO -- The No. 58 BYU men's tennis team heads north again, one week after barely failing to qualify for the National Team Indoor Championships. The Cougars will play two matches in Eugene, Ore., Friday against Oregon and Saturday against No. 21 Washington.

"We have definitely got our work cut out for us," BYU head coach Jim Osborne said. "Both teams we face this weekend are undefeated so far."

The Cougars will look for strong performances again from their doubles teams. In Boise last week, Carlos Lozano and Gert Vilms, No. 10 in the nation, dominated the nation's second-ranked team of Oliver Maiberger and Ryan Redondo, 8-3. Also against San Diego State, Jeff Harbach/Jeff Olsen won at No. 2 and Nic Losee/Erik Nyman took the match at the No. 3 spot.

"I'm very pleased with how well we are playing in doubles at this point," Osborne said. "We're not playing as well as we can in singles yet, but we're improving everyday."

After winning both of his singles matches in Boise, Erik Nyman will most likely move up and take over the No. 3 position. Nic Losee will move down to No. 4, with the other positions staying the same. The Washington match will be the toughest of the weekend, but Osborne and the Cougars want to make sure they don't overlook Oregon on its homecourt.

"We've got to make sure we can take care of business," Osborne said.

The Cougars will have the next week off, but will go to California Feb. 18 and 19 to take on Fresno State and Southern Cal.