The BYU men's tennis team won its first match of the season on Saturday, overcoming a rocky start and finishing strong.
The Cougars started the day against Utah State in singles, with Sterling Galli against Marcus Fritz. BYU lost 2-6, 3-6.
BYU tennis player Francis Sargeant prepares for a backhand serve. (Photo courtesy BYU Athletics)
BYU captain Francis Sargeant led the Cougars to their first victory by dominating in his match with 6-5, 6-1 wins.
Juan Canales began his match against Matt Sweet with a close game of 6-5. Canales was not able to keep his lead, however, and fell to Sweet with losses of 3-6 and 5-6.
Jeremy Bourgeois was neck and neck against Fredrik Peterson in his first match and pulled through with a win of 6-5, but subsequently lost the next two matches by a score of 4-6 and 5-6.
BYU turned it around with Matthew Pearce against Sean Levesque, finishing with 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4. Pearce said he was excited about seeing how BYU's progress would measure up against Utah prior to Saturday's match and did not disappoint with his win.
In the final singles match, Aidan Carrazedo took the Cougars home with a win against Andrew Whiting. Carrazedo lost the first match but finished strong with solid wins of 6-2 and 6-4.
Jacob Sullivan and Pearce led the Cougars to victory in doubles with a 6-3 win against Sweet and Whiting, while Team Sargeant and Galli also dominated their opponents with a 6-3 win.
Team Bourgeois and Canales wrapped up the opening match with a score of 5-4.
At the final tally, BYU beat Utah State 4-3, keeping its phenomenal 49-0 record against the Aggies clean.