Cougars complete quick 4-0 sweep of Wildcats

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis defeated visiting Weber State 4-0 Friday afternoon, earning a sweep after taking the doubles point and the first three completed singles matches.

The Cougars (2-3) went with new doubles pairings for the first time this season, with the changes earning BYU the doubles point after two matches. Wally Thayne and Redd Owen earned the first doubles victory of the day in the No. 3 spot, with Jack Barnett and Mateo Vereau adding the second at No. 2 doubles.

Singles victories were secured by Wally Thayne (No. 1), Dominik Jakovljevic (No. 3) and Redd Owen (No. 4). The remaining matches went unfinished.

“I’m pleased with the team effort. We had some players playing a little bit out of position because of some injuries, and they came through and played well,” said BYU head coach Dave Porter. “It was good to see them step up when they needed to. We're looking forward to playing Saint Mary's tomorrow.”

FULL RESULTS

Doubles

1. Zach Fuchs/Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Connor Kruger/William Zulch (WSU) 6-6, unf.
2. Jack Barnett/Mateo Vereau (BYU) def. Tristan Sarap/Jordan Coutinho (WSU) 7-6 (5)
3. Wally Thayne/Redd Owen (BYU) def. Sebastian Buxman/Matteo Savio (WSU) 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 2

At No. 3 doubles, Thayne and Owen went down 2-1 after an early break but responded with a break of their own to tie the match, 2-2. A backhand winner from Thayne later on earned another break and 5-3 lead, with the Cougars holding their serve despite facing two break points to win 6-3.

No. 2 doubles also saw BYU trail 2-1 early before another break once again earned a 2-2 tie. Barnett and Vereau were later receiving up 5-4, but Sarap and Coutinho survived three match points to extend the set. A tiebreaker ultimately decided the match, with BYU taking a 6-3 lead after an overhead slam from Vereau and two aces from Barnett. WSU responded with two-straight points, but the Wildcats’ next shot went long to give the Cougars a 7-6 (5) victory.

No. 1 doubles went unfinished at 6-6 after BYU clinched the doubles point. There, Fuchs and Andrus held an early 4-2 lead, ultimately serving for the match up 5-4. A double fault on deuce point allowed Kruger and Zulch to survive a match point, with the Cougars getting past a match point of their own on another deuce point later in the match to reach the 6-6 final score.

Singles

1. Wally Thayne (BYU) def. Sebastian Buxman (WSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Zach Fuchs (BYU) vs. Tristan Sarap (WSU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-3, unf.
3. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) def. Connor Kruger (WSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Redd Owen (BYU) def. William Zulch (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Jordan Coutinho (WSU) 0-2, unf.
6. Brian Chen (BYU) vs. Matteo Savio (WSU) 0-0, unf.

Order of finish: 4, 1, 3

BYU’s first singles win came at No. 4, where Owen earned a quick victory after going up 2-0 in both sets. In the first Zulch fought back to tie 2-2, but Owen landed a cross-court winner to go up 5-3, eventually taking the set 6-4. He took the second 6-3, with the final game also being won on break point.

Thayne earned BYU’s next point, starting out with a 4-2 lead at No. 1 singles. Buxman earned a break on deuce point later in the first set but Thayne closed out the set by not giving up a point as the receiver to win 7-5.

In the second set Thayne went ahead 3-0 but Buxman once again came storming back to equalize at 3-all. Thayne then strung together three-straight games again, holding his serve with strong hitting at the net to compliment a break and 6-3 set win.

A close match at No. 3 singles ultimately secured the match for the Cougars. Jakovljevic had multiple chances to open up a lead in the first, with several of his receiving games going to deuce point. He finally got the break he needed to go up 5-3 before holding on for a 6-4 set win.

The second set was also close, with Jakovljevic not getting a break until the very end. He lead 6-5 and was set to serve out the match, but Kruger was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was one game for Jakovljevic, resulting in the 7-5 set score and match victory.

The remaining matches then went unfinished with BYU having won the dual match. At No. 2, Fuchs was locked in a three-set battle before the contest was called. He lost the first 6-3, but stormed back in the second to go up 5-4. He nearly trailed earlier in the set but got past a few deuce points to avoid another deficit. Fuchs went on to win set two 6-4 with a break point on a strong forehand winner that narrowly landed inbounds.

An early break from Sarap had him up 3-1 in the third set before the rest went unfinished. Weber State also had an early edge at No. 5 singles at that point, leading 2-0 in the first set. At No. 6 singles, freshman Brian Chen made his BYU debut, winning the only point that ended up being played on that court.

BYU returns to West Coast Conference play on Saturday, February 18, when they host Saint Mary's. The contest begins at 11:00 a.m. MST.