The 2022-23 school year has been a great one for University of Utah athletic teams, and another huge achievement was reached on Saturday as the men’s tennis squad won at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title for the first time ever.
The Utes sealed the deal with a 4-3 win over the UCLA Bruins on the road, claiming the match in dramatic fashion.
Utah trailed 2-3 before Geronimo Espin Busleiman beat Giacomo Revelli and Francisco Bastias bested Aadarsh Tripathi.
After Espin Busleiman’s win, Bastias lost his first set 6-1 before winning the second 6-4. With the third tied at 5, Bastias won the next two games to win his match.
Utah, which entered this weekend ranked No. 19 in the country and now has a 21-3 record on the season, moved its Pac-12 record to 6-1.
It has one more day of competition remaining in the regular season Sunday at USC with plenty on the line.
A USC win would cause the teams to share the title, while a Utes win would give them the title outright.
This marks the first time the Utes have won a conference title since 2008, when they were members of the Mountain West Conference.
Franco Capalbo leads the team with 16 wins, while Bastias and Espin Busleiman have 15 each and Patrik Trhac and Berk Bugarikj have 13 and 10, respectively, under ninth-year head coach Roeland Brateanu.
This Pac-12 regular season crown marks the fourth for Ute teams this school year, as the football, women’s basketball and gymnastics teams also all claimed at least a share of theirs.
Those were on top of the ski team winning its fourth straight national championship, and on Saturday night, the lacrosse team won its second straight ASUN Conference regular season title.