LOGAN, Utah — Utah State men's tennis snapped a two-game skid on Monday, defeating Montana State, 7-0, at the Sports Academy & Racquet Club. The win is USU's sixth consecutive victory versus the Bobcats.
 
"I think it was a good bounce back from the guys," junior Javier Ruiz said. "We lost two matches, 4-3, at home. The fact that everyone won today was solid. But we can't just be satisfied with 7-0, like coach (Aaron Pajaanen) said, we still lost some sets and everyone can get better every day. We still have a lot to improve."
 
The Aggies rode the strength of the second and third positions through doubles play. The duos of juniors Bodin Zarkovic and David Cierny plus graduate senior Felipe Acosta and freshman Sergi Mico Fenollar each won the first three points of the set en route to a 6-3 and 6-1 win, respectively, to give the Aggies the doubles point.
 
Momentum continued into singles play as USU won the first set in three of the first four matches. Junior Bodin Zarkovic was the first Aggie to close out his opponent, defeating Daan Van Dijk, 6-3, 6-4. Seconds later, senior Felipe Acosta joined Zarkovic in the winner's circle with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jamieson Nathan to push Utah State's lead to 3-0. At the first position, junior David Cierny clinched the match for the Aggies with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory over Matej Panik.
 
"It's always good to get some confidence," Zarkovic said. "It's pretty rough losing, 4-3, two times in a row at home. So I'm really proud of the guys and coaches in how we responded to all of that. I'm just happy."
 
Freshman Sergi Mico Fenollar extended USU's margin to 5-0 shortly afterwards, defeating MSU's Brad Buckland, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. At the sixth spot, Ruiz stormed back from a set down and a 4-1 deficit in the second set to defeat Joaquin Espinoza, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 10-2. 
 
"It always feels good to win a hard-fought match like that," Ruiz said, "but it should be easier. It's more fun when you win easier but a hard-fought win is always good for confidence. It's not easy to win matches… Just to come back and win, it's always hard but it feels good."
 
Junior Roko Savin completed the sweep for the Aggies with a 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 victory over Nejc Sitar.
 
"I think today, everyone showed up on all six courts and all three doubles," Zarkovic said. "We were able to bring stuff that we did in practice and execute well. When we do that, good things happen."
 
Next up, Utah State will travel south to the Arizona State Invite on Friday through Sunday, February 25-27. Joining the Aggies and Sun Devils in the eight-team tournament will be Cal Poly, Memphis, New Mexico, Rice, South Florida and UC Santa Barbara. The tournament draw will be announced on Wednesday.
 
"We're going to Arizona State and we're going to play some really good teams," Zarkovic said. "We really needed this win. I think this is going to help us a lot to play some, I don't want to necessarily say tougher matches, but maybe more mentally challenging ones."
 
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis.  Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
RESULTS
Utah State 7, Montana State 0
Sports Academy & Racquet Club
Logan, Utah
 
Doubles
1. Matej Panik/Daan Van Dijk (MSU) def. Jack Ninteman/Javier Ruiz (USU) 6-2
2. David Cierny/Bodin Zarkovic (USU) Manuel Monteiro/Nejc Sitar (MSU) 6-3
3. Felipe Acosta/Sergi Mico Fenollar (USU) def. Jamieson Nathan/Brad Buckland (MSU) 6-1
 
Singles
1. Cierny (USU) def. Panik (MSU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
2. Zarkovic (USU) def. Van Dijk (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Acosta (USU) def. Nathan (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Mico Fenollar (USU) def. Buckland (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Roko Savin (USU) def. Nejc Sitar 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
6. Javier Ruiz (USU) def. Joaquin Espinoza (MSU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 10-2
 
Match Notes
Utah State: 4-3 (0-0 MW)
Montana State: 5-3 (1-0 Big Sky)
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (2, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5)
 
 - USU -