SALT LAKE CITY – Tough non-conference schedule strikes Nevada again, falling to 1-5 on the season.
The Nevada Men's Tennis team looked to bounce back from the 6-1 defeat at BYU with a come-from-behind win against Utah. The Utes gained the early advantage, winning the doubles point with wins from the Blando brothers, Jayson and Michael, as well as Ger Espin Busleiman and Bruno Krenn.
The Blandos traded games with Nevada's lead pair, Edgar Destouet and Youssef Kadiri until the brothers won their third game and ran away with the match, breaking the Wolf Pack twice, winning 6-2.
The Utes won the doubles session with Busleiman and Krenn's dominant performance over Matheo Coupu and Loris Zisswiller at flight two. Their 6-1 victory over the Nevada duo clinched the advantage for Utah.
Dylan Applegate and Geremia Rossi were en route to the third doubles win for Utah before their match against Rémy Trégourès and Greg Valente was abandoned, 5-3.
Utah doubled its advantage with J. Blando's 6-2, 6-3 win over Destouet. Despite Destouet grabbing a quick 2-0 lead in the first set, J. Blando rallied to win the next six games, winning the set. J. Blando repeated his success in the second set, trailing 3-1 before winning the final five games of the match.
Once again, Zisswiller shined for the Pack, earning his second straight-sets victory in as many days with his 6-3, 6-3 victory over Gianluca Citadini.
Nevada tied the dual at 2-2 with Trégourès' 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Applegate. Trégourès went on two different stretches of winning three games in a row, one stretch in either set.
Utah's Busleiman drew back another point for the Utes, defeating Coupu in the first flight. The first set looked to be heading in Nevada's favor with Coupu holding 2-0, 4-2, and 5-3 leads, however, Busleiman completed the comeback, forcing and winning a tiebreaker 8-6. Busleiman appeared to be in control of the second set the entire time, winning the match 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Utah clinched the dual with Rossi's 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Valente. Rossi won the first set decisively, winning five straight games, but Valente tied the match, winning three straight games of his own to close out the second set. A tight third set was decided by a Rossi break, sealing his personal win and the team's win.
The flight two match, Krenn versus Kadiri went unfinished with two back-and-forth sets. Kadiri grabbed the first set, breaking Krenn for the set. Krenn won the second set in a 7-4 tiebreaker. The pair weren't split by anything with the third set being abandoned 1-1.
Nevada stays in the Pac-12, visiting Arizona State next weekend when the team travels to the Tempe-Phoenix area. The Pack takes on the Sun Devils on Friday at 10 A.M., followed by Grand Canyon on Saturday at 10 A.M.
Full Results
Nevada 2, Utah 4
Doubles
No. 1 – J. Blando/M. Blando (UTAH) def. Destouet/Kadiri (NEV), 6-2
No. 2 – Busleiman/Krenn (UTAH) def. Coupu/Zisswiller (NEV), 6-1
No. 3 – Applegate/Rossi (UTAH) vs. Trégourès/Valente (NEV), 5-3, unf.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles
No. 1 – Busleiman (UTAH) def. Coupu (NEV), 7-6 (6), 6-2
No. 2 – Krenn (UTAH) vs. Kadiri (NEV), 5-7, 7-6 (4), 1-1, unf.
No. 3 – J. Blando (UTAH) def. Destouet (NEV), 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Zisswiller (NEV) def. Citadini (UTAH), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Trégourès (NEV) def. Applegate (UTAH), 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 – Rossi (UTAH) def. Valente (NEV), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 5, 1, 6
