Air Force Academy
BYU
Falcons Drop MWC Opener to BYU, 6-1
4/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 1, 2010
Despite a victory at No. 1 singles by freshman Lance Wilhelm, the Air Force men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to 32nd-ranked BYU Thursday at the Academy in the 2010 Mountain West Conference opener for each team. With the victory, BYU improved to 16-4 overall and 1-0 in the MWC, while the Falcons lost their fourth straight match and fell to 10-6 and 0-1.
The Cougars began the day by sweeping the doubles competition, then won five of the six singles contests. At the top doubles spot, Thomas Shubert and Cassidy Mears posted an 8-4 triumph over Brett Rodgers and Taylor Soster. BYU also got doubles wins from Georgy Batrakov and Spencer Smith, 8-6 over Wilhelm and Austin Francis at No. 2, and Evan Urbina and Daniel Hwang, 8-4, over Alex Beaussart and Sam Barnes at No. 3.
Wilhelm improved to 13-3 and posted AFA's first singles victory over BYU since 2006 with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory over Urbina, but that would be it for the Falcons. The Cougars won the other five singles matches in straight sets, including a 6-0, 6-3 win by Shubert over Francis at the No. 2 spot.
Air Force returns to action on Saturday, April 3 against Utah at the Academy. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
#32 BYU 6, Air Force 1
Singles
1. Lance Wilhelm (AF) def. Evan Urbina, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2)
2. Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. Austin Francis, 6-0, 6-3
3. Georgy Batrakov (BYU) def. Taylor Soster, 6-4, 6-2
4. Cassidy Mears (BYU) def. Brett Rodgers, 6-2, 6-3
5. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Vinni Lodolo, 6-3, 6-2
6. Daniel Hwang (BYU) def. Alex Beaussart, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Shubert / Mears (BYU) def. Rodgers / Soster, 8-4
2. Batrakov / Smith (BYU) def. Francis / Wilhelm, 8-6
3. Urbina / Hwang (BYU) def. Beaussart / Sam Barnes, 8-4
Players Mentioned
