Box Score

Junior Lukas Moenter earned the clinching 7-5, 6-3 victory over Jeffrey Hsu on court two as LMU (19-5) knocked off second-seed BYU (18-7), 4-2, on Friday morning from the Biszantz Family Tennis Center and the WCC Championship Tournament.

The win pushes LMU, the three-seed in the tournament, into the Championship Final against top-seed #41 San Diego at 10 a.m. on Saturday. This is the first time LMU has competed in the Championship Final.

"This was just a great effort by the entire team, staff and fans today," head coach Tom Lloyd said. "We wanted it more than the other team today, and we fought tooth and nail from the first serve."

The Lions dropped the doubles point despite winning the first decision on court one. Nick Borchenko / Moenter defeated Sean Hill/Hsu, 6-4, on the top court, but BYU rebounded to post hard-fought wins on courts three (6-4) and two (7-6 (6)), in that order, to steal the point.

John Pearce handed BYU a 2-0 advantage by winning a 6-3, 6-2 decision on court five, but LMU's singles play solidified from there. Errol Smith answered with a convincing 6-2, 7-5 win over Ben Gajardo on court four, followed by Borchenko's 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Matthew Pearce on court six to knot the team score at 2-2.

Lucas Moreno followed with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sam Tullis on court three, leaving just the top-two courts to be decided. Gabriel Diaz Freire had dropped the opening set, 7-5, on the top court, and he trailed 4-3 in the second, but Moenter emerged from the opener with a 7-5 victory and was inching toward the clincher on court two. The native of Germany traded blows with Hsu before ultimately capturing the 6-3 win on a ball driven over the baseline by Hsu.

Following the win, Moenter collapsed in exhilaration before being mobbed by his Lion teammates.

LMU will now prepare for the Championship Final match on Saturday against the Toreros. USD posted a 4-0 win over LMU earlier this year. The Championship match can be followed by visiting the following link.

WCC Championship Live Video/Scoring

BYU vs LMU (Apr 27, 2018)
LMU 4, BYU 2
Apr 27, 2018 at Claremont, Calif. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LMU) vs. Sean Hill (BYU) 5-7, 3-4, unfinished
2. Lukas Moenter (LMU) def. Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Lucas Moreno (LMU) def. Sam Tullis (BYU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Errol Smith (LMU) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU) 6-2, 7-5
5. John Pearce (BYU) def. Charles Boyce (LMU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Nick Borchenko (LMU) def. Matthew Pearce (BYU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Nick Borchenko/Lukas Moenter (LMU) def. Sean Hill/Jeffrey Hsu (BYU) 6-4
2. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Charles Boyce/Lucas Moreno (LMU) 7-6 (8-6)
3. John Pearce/Matthew Pearce (BYU) def. Diego Nava/Ethan Prost (LMU) 6-4

Match Notes
BYU 18-7
LMU 19-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,4,6,3,2)