Albuquerque, NM – Despite a strong team effort, BYU men’s tennis dropped two matches against New Mexico on Friday and Saturday, losing both 4-0.

Playing without Zach Fuchs in both singles and doubles and with only doubles play from No. 1 Jack Barnett and No. 5 Brigham Andrus, the Cougars fought hard but came up short while using still injured players Wally Thayne and Mateo Vereau. 

“I am proud of the fight we put up today,” said BYU head coach Dave Porter.  “We were shorthanded and playing out of position but we fought hard to the end.  It was challenging to come outdoors in the sun and wind with even higher altitudes than in Provo.  Tennis is a game of adjustments and we will continue to work on adjusting more quickly.  We need to heal this week and be ready for Nevada and UC Davis this next weekend in California.”

In day one of doubles play, Wally Thayne and Mateo Vereau finished first with a 6-2 loss to their New Mexico opponents. At No. 1 doubles, Jack Barnett and Tennyson Whiting fought to the end with a close 7-5 loss, giving up the doubles point.

At No. 5 singles, Tennyson Whiting finished first, followed by Otto Schreiner at No. 6 singles, both losing in two sets. In a close first set, Jack Barnett at No. 1 singles tied his opponent at 5-5, eventually falling, 7-5, 3-1. The other singles matches went unfinished.

The Cougars also had a tough go on day two, losing the doubles point with a 6-2 loss at No. 2 doubles and 6-1 loss at No. 3 doubles. In singles play, Thayne lost in a 6-3, 6-3 battle against his New Mexico opponent at No. 1 singles. At No. 6 singles, Tennyson Whiting fell 6-3, 6-2 to finish the match.

BYU men’s tennis will be away again next week, facing University of Nevada and UC Davis on Friday, Feb. 25.

Match Results Day 1: 

Doubles: 

1. MAGGS, Alex/PUCALKA, Jan (NM) def. Jack Barnett/Tennyson Whiting (BYU) 7-5

2. PRIETO, Nicolas/AZKARA, Arda (NM) def. Wally Thayne/Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-2

3. ABDULSALAM, Rafael/SAMAHA, Georgio (NM) vs. Matheus Ferreira Lei/Brigham Andrus (BYU) 6-5, unf.

Singles: 

1. AZKARA, Arda (NM) def. Jack Barnett (BYU) 7-5, 3-1

2. ABDULSALAM, Rafael (NM) vs. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-4, 1-1, unf.

3. MAGGS, Alex (NM) vs. Matheus Ferreira Lei (BYU) 0-6, 6-4, unf.

4. KAKHNIUK, Daniil (NM) vs. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-1, 4-6, 1-0, unf.

5. PUCALKA, Jan (NM) def. Tennyson Whiting (BYU) 6-4, 6-4

6. SAMAHA, Georgio (NM) def. Otto Schreiner (BYU) 6-1, 6-2

Match Results Day 2: 

Doubles:

1. MAGGS, Alex/PUCALKA, Jan (NM) vs. Jack Barnett/Tennyson Whiting (BYU) 5-3, unf. 

2. PRIETO, Nicolas/AZKARA, Arda (NM) def. Wally Thayne/Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-2

3. ABDULSALAM, Rafael/SAMAHA, Georgio (NM) def. Matheus Ferreira Lei/Brigham Andrus (BYU) 6-1

Singles:

1. AZKARA, Arda (NM) def. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-3, 6-3

2. ABDULSALAM, Rafael (NM) def. Matheus Ferreira Lei (BYU) 6-4, default 

3. NOROOZIAN, Aram (NM) vs. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 7-5, 2-3, unf. 

4. MAGGS, Alex (NM) vs. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 6-4, 2-2, unf. 

5. PUCALKA, Jan (NM) vs. Alex Lin (BYU) 6-4, 4-2, unf.

6. SAMAHA, Georgio (NM) def. Tennyson Whiting (BYU) 6-3, 6-2

PROVO, Utah – In its second road match of the season, the BYU men’s tennis team will travel to Albuquerque to face the New Mexico Lobos. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. MT on Friday, Feb. 18 and 12 p.m. MT on Sat. Feb 19.

LIVE STATS

BYU Notes: (2-1)

• The BYU Cougars are 2-1 this season after a close loss last weekend to Boise State (3-4).
• The team came out on top of the Weber State Wildcats and Grand Canyon Antelopes, winning both matches by a score of 6-1. 
• BYU kicked off its 2021-22 season at the Hawai’i Invitational on Jan. 6-8. The Cougars were 8-1 in doubles and 9-12 in singles for an overall record of 17 wins and 13 losses.  
• The doubles duos Brigham Andrus with Matheus Ferreira Leite (6-0) and Jack Barnett with Tennyson Whiting (4-0) are both undefeated on the season.

Head Coach Dave Porter

• Alma Mater: BYU, 1975
• Division 1 Coaching Record: 16-7 (2nd Season)
• Record at BYU: Same
• Overall collegiate coaching record: 1,426-195

BYU Singles Record

Brigham Andrus (3-3)

Jack Barnett (1-3)

Zach Fuchs (4-1)

Matheus Ferreira Leite (4-2)

Dominik Jakovljevic (1-2)

Wally Thayne (3-3)

Mateo Vereau (2-3)

Tennyson Whiting (2-0)

Alex Lin (1-0)

Otto Schreiner (1-0)

BYU Doubles Record

Brigham Andrus & Matheus Ferreira Leite (6-0)

Zach Fuchs & Wally Thayne (2-2)

Dominik Jakovljevic & Mateo Vereau, (1-0)

Jack Barnett & Tennyson Whiting (4-0)

Jack Barnett & Wally Thayne (2-0)

Dominik Jakovljevic & Alex Lin (1-0)

University of New Mexico Notes: (2-2)

• The Lobos are 2-2 to start their season.
• New Mexico faced their first two losses of the season back-to-back against University of Utah (1-6) and Gonzaga (2-4).
• The Lobos came out on top of Santa Clara (5-2) and Grand Canyon (6-1).
• BYU leads the series against New Mexico 34-23.

Head Coach Chris Russell

• Alma Mater: UC Santa Barbara
• Russell began coaching at New Mexico in 2021

New Mexico Information – Feb. 18-19

• Time: Fri. 3 p.m. MT and Sat. 12 p.m. MT
• Live Stats: golobos.com/mtennisstats
• Live Stream will not be available