After defeating No. 45 Boise State 4–3 in a grueling match on April 6, the No. 39 BYU men’s tennis team will be on the road again for three matches in three days against Portland, Idaho and Gonzaga.
“We’ve never played in any of those places, so we’ll be in unfamiliar territory,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “They’re good teams, and we’re a target. But I’m confident that we’ll be up to the challenges.”
The Cougars (16–4, 4–0 WCC) come into the three matches on a five-match winning streak and sit in second place in the West Coast Conference standings behind No. 7 Pepperdine.
No. 39 Patrick Kawka has been leading the Cougars throughout the season at the No. 1 spot and helping pull them through tough matches, including an impressive win last week against Boise State’s nationally ranked Andy Bettles. The junior from Reno, Nev., is 14–4 on the season and has only lost twice since Feb. 9.
Sophomores Francis Sargeant and Keaton Cullimore have also been key instruments for the Cougars this season at the No. 3 and 4 spots. Sargeant has the best record for the Cougars at 15–3, and Cullimore is 12–4 on the season and has won seven straight matches.
Portland is 9–9 overall and 2–3 in the WCC. The Pilots’ two wins were against Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga.
Idaho is 20–4, including wins over Utah, Saint Mary’s, Utah State, Portland and Gonzaga and is first in the Western Athletic Conference.
Gonzaga is winless in the WCC this season and 7–11 overall. Its last win came against New Mexico State on March 28.
BYU will play Portland at 10:00 a.m. PDT in Portland and then travel to Spokane, Wash., for its Friday match against Idaho at 5:00 p.m. PDT and its Saturday match against Gonzaga at 10:30 a.m. PDT.
