No. 54 Utah Men's Tennis Splits Saturday's Matches

Saturday, February 14

Salt Lake City, Utah

5:00 PM

University of Utah

No. 64 Denver

No. 54 Utah Men's Tennis Splits Saturday's Matches

2/14/2015 12:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Feb. 14, 2015

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - The 54th-ranked Utah men's tennis team (5-2) blanked Northern Colorado (2-3) in the first of two matches Saturday, but were then handed its second loss of the season, 6-1, by 64th-ranked Denver (5-4).

The Utes handily shut out the Bears after capturing all the doubles sets for the doubles point and followed with six straight, two-set singles victories. Senior Slim Hamza netted the match deciding point at the No. 1 spot over Ben Gendron, 6-0, 6-3.

"We did a really good job of taking care of business and played significantly better than two weeks ago," said head coach Roeland Brateanu.

When Utah hit the courts at the Eccles Tennis Center for the second time Saturday, senior Cedric Willems and junior Matt Cowley started strong in doubles, topping Alex Gasson and David Fox, 6-3, at the first slot. But the Utes struggled to find their winning momentum and gave up the doubles point and two straight singles points. After the Pioneers went up 3-0, freshman Freddie McGeehan posted the Utes' solo point at the No. 5 spot, defeating Fox, 7-5, 6-2. Denver went on to capture the following three points for a final score of 6-1.

"A lot of people will look at the final score and think we got smoked," commented Brateanu. "In all reality, it was a really close match. We had our chances, but couldn't quite capitalize. Congrats to Denver for playing a very good match, but I'm pleased with our overall showing. We didn't beat ourselves and made Denver earn it."

The Utes return to action Monday at 12 p.m. MT as they host Iowa.

Match Results#54 University of Utah 7, Northern Colorado 0Singles competition1. Slim Hamza (UTAH) def. Ben Gendron (NC) 6-0, 6-32. Cedric Willems (UTAH) def. Austin Mayo (NC) 6-2, 6-13. Matt Cowley (UTAH) def. Mitchell Knight (NC) 6-3, 6-44. Freddie McGeehan (UTAH) def. Jordan Loughnan (NC) 6-0, 6-45. Johan Jonhagen (UTAH) def. Eric Schuermans (NC) 6-1, 6-16. Louis-Phillippe Gascon (UTAH) def. Jacob Sheldon (NC) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition1. Cedric Willems/Matt Cowley (UTAH) def. Ben Gendron/Austin Mayo (NC), 6-32. Slim Hamza/Freddie McGeehan (UTAH) def. Mitchell Knight/Cassell King (NC), 6-13. Santiago Sierra/Johan Jonhagen (UTAH) def. Eric Schuermans/Jacob Sheldon (NC), 6-1Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,6,1*,5,4,3)
#64 Denver 6, #54 University of Utah 1Singles competition1. #113 Henry Craig (DEN) def. Slim Hamza (UTAH) 6-0, 6-42. Diogo Rocha (DEN) def. Cedric Willems (UTAH) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 7-53. Alex Gasson (DEN) def. Matt Cowley (UTAH) 7-5, 6-24. Yannik James (DEN) def. Parker McGuiness (UTAH) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-35. Freddie McGeehan (UTAH) def. David Fox (DEN) 7-5, 6-26. Jesse Ruder-Hook (DEN) def. Santiago Sierra (UTAH) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles competition1. Cedric Willems/Matt Cowley (UTAH) def. Alex Gasson/David Fox (DEN) 6-32. Diogo Rocha/Yannik James (DEN) def. Slim Hamza/Parker McGuiness (UTAH) 6-33. Henry Craig/Jesse Ruder-Hook (DEN) def. Santiago Sierra/Johan Jonhagen (UTAH) 6-4Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,5,6,4,2)