No. 36 BYU Challenges Two Conference Foes

PROVO, Utah -- Following a tough 4-3 victory against No. 74 TCU, the No. 36 BYU men’s tennis team will meet conference foe No. 52 UNLV in Las Vegas Thursday and San Diego State in San Diego Saturday.

“They’re both going to be tough,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “UNLV has the better record, but San Diego State is very dangerous. These are two schools we never take lightly. We just need to make sure the guys are ready to play in every match at every position.”

No. 116 Patrick Kawka, a freshman from Las Vegas, scored the final point for BYU (14-4, 1-0) that clinched Cougar victory against the Horned Frogs. Kawka holds a 24-8 record in singles. With team captain Evan Urbina, he has earned an 18-8 overall doubles record.

Mountain West Conference Player of the Week Georgy Batrakov is 16-3 on the season and has won his last 13 matches. Batrakov is undefeated with doubles partner Thomas Shubert (9-0).

UNLV’s Mehdi Bouras ranks No. 58 with an 18-10 singles record and ranks No. 35 with Bernard Schoeman (13-8). The Rebels are 12-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference after a win against ... and loss to ... last weekend.

San Diego State is 3-13 on the season and 1-2 in conference, with losses to No. 74 TCU and No. 51 New Mexico and a win against Air Force.

The UNLV match will begin at 2 p.m. Thursday and the San Diego State game will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.