The BYU men’s tennis team suffered its second loss of the season in its final match against No. 18 Texas Tech (4-1) in the HEB Invitational. The Cougars defeated DePaul (4-0) and Middle Tennessee (4-1) before falling to the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

“We competed well,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We just came up short.”

Having lost to Middle Tennessee last season, the Cougars expected a tough contest. After losing the doubles point, they had to step it up in singles to take the victory.

“We had our backs up against the wall early in the match because we lost the doubles point,” Pearce said. “I was really proud of our guys for being so resilient.”

Fortunately for the Cougars, they were able to turn the match around.

“We had something to prove to ourselves,” team captain Cassidy Mears said. “We lost to them last year.”

Daniel Wong, who primarily plays doubles, won the clinching match for the team. Pearce said that as a coach, it is very exciting to see those breakthroughs.

“Daniel [Wong] did a terrific job,” Pearce said. “I was really pleased with his efforts.”

The Cougars defeated DePaul for the second time this season.

“I was proud of our guys for coming out and getting immediately on top of them and never letting up,” Pearce said of the match against DePaul.

Pearce said the goal of the trip was to make it to the finals and play against the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

“These types of matches are good for us,” Pearce said. “It forces us to get better. I think it would have been different though if we had won the doubles point.”

Pearce said Texas Tech is solid in every position and the team was glad for the opportunity to play such a high-caliber team.

“We’re better having played them,” Pearce said. “They are No. 18 for a reason. There are a lot of grinders on their team.”

The team came out of the weekend with two more wins for the season, putting its record at 13-2.

“We would have liked to come home with a win, but we are right there,” Pearce said. “Our guys competed well; they don’t have anything to hang their heads about.”