Thursday, 03/29/2012

MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's tennis team returns to West Coast Conference action this week when they host WCC newcomer Brigham Young University. The match will mark the first ever meeting between the two men's tennis programs.

The Gaels and Cougars will square off on Friday, March 30 at 2 p.m. from the Timothy Korth Tennis Complex.

Saint Mary's enters Friday's match with a 4-11 overall record and a 0-3 mark in WCC play. The Gaels have lost their last five matches, including consecutive 4-3 losses in the Pacific Northwest this past weekend at Gonzaga and Portland.

Seif El Sherbini leads Saint Mary's with an 8-7 singles record this season, while Sherif Hamdy and Maxime Olivan are 7-8 this spring. Olivan led the Gaels this past weekend with two singles wins at the No. 1 spot against the Bulldogs and Pilots. Samuel Bloore and Gavin Leon teamed up for the first time this weekend and earned two doubles wins on court three, while Saad Benkirane and Olivan have teamed up to go 6-2 this season at the No. 2 spot.

No. 44 BYU enters Friday's match with a 10-6 overall record and a 0-1 mark in WCC play. The Cougars lost their most recent match to No. 34 Santa Clara on the road, 4-3, but won their previous seven-straight matches. No. 45 Georgy Batrakov is the only player for the Cougars ranked in the ITA singles poll and has a 10-6 record at the No. 1 spot this season. This will mark the first ever match up between the two men's tennis programs.

Following the match against the Cougars, SMC will return to action next week with a busy schedule. The Gaels will play Montana (April 3) and Oregon (April 5) before hosting perennial WCC favorite Pepperdine on April 7.