By Reed A. Peterson
The hardest part of any race is the home stretch. Such is the case with the BYU”s tennis teams.
The Cougars have had a long run this season and this weekend is the final push.
The men travel to Idaho this weekend to take on Boise State and Fresno State. The women will host Wyoming and Fresno State in Provo.
Both teams are coming off huge wins spring-boarding into the final regular season weekend.
BYU”s men”s team is coming off two 7-0 sweeps against the University of Montana and the University of Denver. In both matches the Cougars didn”t lose a point.
BYU”s women”s team is basking in the glory of its big victory over in-state rival Utah. The Cougars beat the Utes, 6-1 in Provo last Saturday. The women hope to continue the home win streak, which stands at five matches and extends back to January.
The Cougar men will need to firing on all cylinders to pull out wins in Idaho, especially since the Cougars have not done well on the road this season. BYU has lost seven of its ten road matches.
Boise State beat the Cougars last year in Provo. Fresno State is ranked No. 24 and has some of the top singles and doubles players in the nation. Peter Luczak is the No. 8 singles player and joins David Mullins to form the No. 9 doubles team.
The Cougars are not without a power doubles tandem. Carlos Lozano and Gert Vilms are the No. 34 doubles team in the country.
The Cougar women did not play Wyoming last season but hope to benefit from a flawless Mountain West Conference record thus far in the season. BYU has gone 6-0 this season against MWC teams.
A win over the Cowboys would make a perfect 7-0 MWC season.
The match against Fresno State will be another battle for the Cougars. Fresno State is a top-ten team, currently ranked No. 8 in the nation. The Bulldogs have the No. 7 doubles team of Simone Jardim and Kim Niggemeyer.
The Cougars top doubles team, Jodi Richardson and Brooke Ferney, are also among the top teams in the country. They are currently ranked No. 15.
The Cougar women are 11-7 overall and 5-0 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Cougar men are 11-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
