LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's tennis' (4-3, 0-0 MW) four-game winning streak against BYU (5-2, 0-0 WCC) was snapped with a 4-3 loss on Friday night at the Sports Academy & Racquet Club.
"It was a really hard-fought match and it was a great effort from BYU," said head coach James Wilson. "They played to win in big moments and that was the biggest factor. It's unfortunate that we came up a little bit short and a lot of credit goes to BYU."
BYU won the doubles point as sophomores Jacob Tullis and Ben Gajardo won, 6-3, at the No. 2 spot against Utah State junior Duro Opacic and freshman Isaac Arevalo Gómez. Freshman Mateo Vereau and senior Matthew Pierce posted a 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot against USU freshman Mitch Johnson and sophomore Felipe Acosta. At the No. 1 spot, USU freshman Rithvik Bollipalli and junior Sergiu Bucur's match went unfinished against No. 19 ranked Sean Hill and Jeffrey Hsu.
Arevalo opened singles play with a 4-6, 1-6, straight-set loss against Hill on court one. Acosta tied up the match as he lost the first set, 1-6, against Hsu, but won the final two sets, 6-1, 6-1. Bucur followed suit with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win against Vereau on court two. Bollipalli earned a win at the No. 5 spot with a 7-5, 7-5 win against Gajardo to make it a 2-1 game. Johnson forced his match at the No. 6 spot to go to three sets against Pearce after he fell in the first set, 1-6, but won the second set, 6-3. The third set would go to Pearce, 6-1. Opacic faced junior Sam Tullis at the No. 4 spot, with Opacic edging out the first set, 7-6 (9-7), but lost the final two sets, 3-6, 1-6, as BYU won the match.
Utah State next will stay home and face both Santa Clara and Montana State on Friday, Feb. 8, at 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. at the Sport Academy & Racquet Club.
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.
RESULTS
BYU 4, Utah State 3
Doubles
1. Rithvik Bollipalli/Sergiu Bucur (USU) vs. #19 Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) 4-4, unfinished
2. Jacob Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Duro Opacic/Isaac Arevalo Gómez (USU) 6-3
3. Mateo Vereau/Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. Mitch Johnson/Felipe Acosta (USU) 6-3
Singles
1. Sean Hill (BYU) def. Isaac Arevalo Gómez (USU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Sergiu Bucur (USU) def. Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Felipe Acosta (USU) def. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Duro Opacic (USU) 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-1
5. Rithvik Bollipalli (USU) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU) 7-5, 7-5
6. Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. Mitch Johnson (USU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
Match Notes:
BYU 5-2
Utah State 4-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,2,5,6,4)
-USU-
