Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus Utah Invitational on October 3, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs Utah Invitational
Saturday, March 7
Salt Lake City, UT
2:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Brigham Young
Photo by: Steve Kinslow
Utah Men's Tennis Hosts BYU Saturday
3/4/2020 11:06 AM | Men's Tennis
Utes look to remain undefeated at home.
FIRST SERVE
The University of Utah men's tennis team (12-4, 0-0 Pac-12) will close out their stretch of home matches this week with a contest against in-state rival Brigham Young (5-7, 0-0 WCC) this Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. The match will be a Red Out and there will be free pizza for Utah fans in attendance. A stream for the match can be found here.
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RISING IN THE RANKINGS
Juniors Russell Benkaim and Randy Cory are rolling in the top doubles spot for Utah and have won their last 11 matches. After downing Denver's then-ranked No. 21 top duo, Benkaim and Cory broke into the ITA rankings and came in at No. 54 in the poll, and after continuing to tally wins, the junior duo jumped 17 spots in the most recent ITA/Oracle poll to be ranked the nation's No. 37 duo. Benkaim and Cory claimed an upset against the nation's then-ranked No. 10 doubles team from Iowa to clinch the doubles point and complete the upset over the top-25 Iowa team. The Ute duo holds a 12-3 record in spring play.
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CAPALBOÂ COMES UP CLUTCH
Against Loyola Marymount this past Saturday, the temporary Ute lead was halted when LMU claimed singles wins on courts four and six to even the score up at 3-3. With the winning point coming down to the No. 1 position, freshman Franco Capalbo was left to battle it out in a third set after splitting two tight sets to open the match. In the third, Capalbo fell behind 1-4 early in the match and had the home court win-streak look to be in jeopardy. Capalbo turned the tides and went on to win the next five-consecutive games to come back and finish the match with a 6-4 third-set victory, giving the Utes a 4-3 win over LMU to remain undefeated in Salt Lake City.
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SLAVA SERVING IT UP
Ute senior Slava Shainyan has taken charge for Utah this season and his consistent spring play has brought him to a 13-2 singles record and a 10-4 doubles record with Azat Hankuliyev. Playing mostly in the third position, Shainyan has won 11 of his last 12 singles matches and is riding a six-match win streak. Shainyan earned the match-clinching win in Utah's upset against then-ranked No. 23 Iowa when he pulled out a 6-2 win in the third set to ensure a Ute victory. The Moscow, Russia native also clinched the match against East Tennessee State for another big win at home for the Utes with a three-set victory while the remaining two courts were also battling in third sets.
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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Utah men's tennis has created a significant home court advantage this season and in past years at the Eccles Tennis Center. This season, the Utes have jumped out to a 12-0 record at home. The Utes have picked up nine wins against region opponents, while also claiming big wins against Iowa and East Tennessee State. Including the 12 wins this season, Utah holds a 63-16 (.797) record at the Eccles Tennis Center since the beginning of the 2015 season.
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SCOUTING BYU
The BYU men's tennis team comes into their match against Utah with an overall record of 5-7 on the season. The Cougars are most recently coming off a 3-4 loss against No. 43 Denver. BYU's wins have been over George Washington, East Tennessee State, Weber State, Idaho State and Utah State. The Cougars are led by senior Sean Hill in singles play and he is ranked No. 84 in the most recent ITA poll.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Utes are coming off two victories this past weekend at the Eccles Tennis Center, beating out Loyola Marymount 4-3 and cruising past Northern Arizona 6-1. Against LMU, the Utes took the early advantage by earning the doubles point with wins by the duos of Cory/Benkaim at the No. 1 spot and Thayne/Gavelin at the No. 3 position. Shainyan and Gavelin picked up straight-set victories in singles on their respective courts to put the Utes up 3-1, but shortly after, LMU tied things up at 3-3. Capalbo then rallied for the winning point at the No. 1 spot in dramatic fashion, giving the Utes the 4-3 win.
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Against NAU, the Utes were yet again able to earn the doubles point with wins from the duos of Hankuliyev/Shainyan and Cory/Benkaim on their respective courts. The Utes then won five straight-set singles matches to down NAU 6-1 to go undefeated on the weekend and keep Utah's win streak at home alive.
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UP NEXT
The Utah men's tennis team will prepare for two road matches next week in Dallas, Texas. The Utes are first set to play The Citadel on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. MT, followed by a match the next day against SMU on Sunday, March 15 at 11 a.m. MT to wrap up the nonconference schedule.
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The University of Utah men's tennis team (12-4, 0-0 Pac-12) will close out their stretch of home matches this week with a contest against in-state rival Brigham Young (5-7, 0-0 WCC) this Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. MT at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. The match will be a Red Out and there will be free pizza for Utah fans in attendance. A stream for the match can be found here.
Â
RISING IN THE RANKINGS
Juniors Russell Benkaim and Randy Cory are rolling in the top doubles spot for Utah and have won their last 11 matches. After downing Denver's then-ranked No. 21 top duo, Benkaim and Cory broke into the ITA rankings and came in at No. 54 in the poll, and after continuing to tally wins, the junior duo jumped 17 spots in the most recent ITA/Oracle poll to be ranked the nation's No. 37 duo. Benkaim and Cory claimed an upset against the nation's then-ranked No. 10 doubles team from Iowa to clinch the doubles point and complete the upset over the top-25 Iowa team. The Ute duo holds a 12-3 record in spring play.
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CAPALBOÂ COMES UP CLUTCH
Against Loyola Marymount this past Saturday, the temporary Ute lead was halted when LMU claimed singles wins on courts four and six to even the score up at 3-3. With the winning point coming down to the No. 1 position, freshman Franco Capalbo was left to battle it out in a third set after splitting two tight sets to open the match. In the third, Capalbo fell behind 1-4 early in the match and had the home court win-streak look to be in jeopardy. Capalbo turned the tides and went on to win the next five-consecutive games to come back and finish the match with a 6-4 third-set victory, giving the Utes a 4-3 win over LMU to remain undefeated in Salt Lake City.
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SLAVA SERVING IT UP
Ute senior Slava Shainyan has taken charge for Utah this season and his consistent spring play has brought him to a 13-2 singles record and a 10-4 doubles record with Azat Hankuliyev. Playing mostly in the third position, Shainyan has won 11 of his last 12 singles matches and is riding a six-match win streak. Shainyan earned the match-clinching win in Utah's upset against then-ranked No. 23 Iowa when he pulled out a 6-2 win in the third set to ensure a Ute victory. The Moscow, Russia native also clinched the match against East Tennessee State for another big win at home for the Utes with a three-set victory while the remaining two courts were also battling in third sets.
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THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Utah men's tennis has created a significant home court advantage this season and in past years at the Eccles Tennis Center. This season, the Utes have jumped out to a 12-0 record at home. The Utes have picked up nine wins against region opponents, while also claiming big wins against Iowa and East Tennessee State. Including the 12 wins this season, Utah holds a 63-16 (.797) record at the Eccles Tennis Center since the beginning of the 2015 season.
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SCOUTING BYU
The BYU men's tennis team comes into their match against Utah with an overall record of 5-7 on the season. The Cougars are most recently coming off a 3-4 loss against No. 43 Denver. BYU's wins have been over George Washington, East Tennessee State, Weber State, Idaho State and Utah State. The Cougars are led by senior Sean Hill in singles play and he is ranked No. 84 in the most recent ITA poll.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Utes are coming off two victories this past weekend at the Eccles Tennis Center, beating out Loyola Marymount 4-3 and cruising past Northern Arizona 6-1. Against LMU, the Utes took the early advantage by earning the doubles point with wins by the duos of Cory/Benkaim at the No. 1 spot and Thayne/Gavelin at the No. 3 position. Shainyan and Gavelin picked up straight-set victories in singles on their respective courts to put the Utes up 3-1, but shortly after, LMU tied things up at 3-3. Capalbo then rallied for the winning point at the No. 1 spot in dramatic fashion, giving the Utes the 4-3 win.
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Against NAU, the Utes were yet again able to earn the doubles point with wins from the duos of Hankuliyev/Shainyan and Cory/Benkaim on their respective courts. The Utes then won five straight-set singles matches to down NAU 6-1 to go undefeated on the weekend and keep Utah's win streak at home alive.
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UP NEXT
The Utah men's tennis team will prepare for two road matches next week in Dallas, Texas. The Utes are first set to play The Citadel on Saturday, March 14 at 11 a.m. MT, followed by a match the next day against SMU on Sunday, March 15 at 11 a.m. MT to wrap up the nonconference schedule.
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Players Mentioned
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