SMU Sneaks Past Cougars

DALLAS -- In the last nonconference match of the season, the No. 34 BYU men’s tennis team fell to Southern Methodist in Texas. Friday’s 4-3 loss dropped the Cougars to 17-5 on the year.

Georgy Batrakov and Daniel Hwang were the only BYU duo to record a win in doubles. The pair earned an 8-4 decision at the No. 2 position. SMU took the match on court three by the same scoreline. On court one, Cassidy Mears and Thomas Shubert fought to overcome the No. 29 pair in the country. The tandem tied things up at seven-all but eventually fell 9-7, giving the Mustangs the point.

Evan Urbina and Batrakov secured straight-set wins at the Nos. 2 and 4 positions, respectively. SMU’s Darren Walsh defeated Mears 6-3, 6-2 on court three to even the score at 2-2. The Mustangs pulled ahead with a 7-5, 7-5 victory at the No. 5 spot.

The final two matches both went to three sets. Shubert won the first set 6-4 but fell in the second and third to allow SMU to clinch the match. On court six, Daniel Hwang also won his first set but lost the second. The third set went to a tiebreak, and the junior captured the match at 7-4 to finish play at 4-3.

BYU will resume conference play Saturday when it takes on No. 56 TCU at 2 p.m. CT. The match will take place at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center and live stats will be available. For updated results throughout the contest, click here.

Results
No. 34 BYU-3
SMU-4
Doubles
1. No. 29 el-Effendi/Walsh (SMU) def. Mears/ Shubert (BYU) 9-7
2. Batrakov/Hwang (BYU) def. Flood/Griffin (SMU) 8-4
3. Baradach/Hooshyar (SMU) def. Smith/Urbina (BYU) 8-4
Singles
1. No. 68 A. Baradach (SMU) def. T. Shubert (BYU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. E. Urbina (BYU) def. T. Flood (SMU) 6-2, 6-2
3. D. Walsh (SMU) def. C. Mears (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
4. G. Batrakov (BYU) def. P. Perez-Esnaola (SMU) 6-4, 6-2
5. C. Hooshyar (SMU) def. S. Smith (BYU) 7-5, 7-5
6. D. Hwang (BYU) def. A. el-Effendi (SMU) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)