BYU men’s tennis sweeps San Francisco 4-0

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis defeated West Coast Conference foe San Francisco 4-0 Friday afternoon at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts to earn the team’s third sweep of the season.

The Cougars (5-12, 3-2 WCC) took the doubles point with wins from Zach Fuchs and Brigham Andrus along with Dominik Jakovljevic and Redd Owen. Three singles matches were then won by Wally Thayne, Fuchs and Jakovljevic.

“It was nice to get a good conference win today against San Francisco. We played well picking up the doubles point and then fought hard in singles to close it out early,” said BYU head coach Dave Porter. “We’re looking forward to playing Santa Clara tomorrow in an important conference match. We appreciate all those who came out to watch and support us and hope that we see you tomorrow.”

FULL RESULTS

Doubles

1. Jack Barnett/Wally Thayne (BYU) vs. Nil Giraldez/Johan Garpered (USF) 5-4, unf.
2. Zach Fuchs/Brigham Andrus (BYU) def. Davide Cortimiglia/Stevie Gould (USF) 6-2
3. Dominik Jakovljevic/Redd Owen (BYU) def. Nikola Kuraica/Luka Kalenic (USF) 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 3

A strong forehand shot from Andrus that the Dons could not return cleanly put the Cougars up 4-2 at No. 2 doubles. Fuchs and Andrus would later win their fourth-straight game with a double fault on deuce point to claim a 6-2 victory.

BYU won the doubles point just seconds later on the No. 3 court. There, Jakovljevic and Owen won a break point to go up 4-3 before holding their serve in the next game despite going down 30-40. Their 6-4 victory was sealed when Jakovljevic held his serve without giving up a point, with Owen winning match point with an overhead slam at the net.

No. 1 doubles went unfinished. Barnett and Thayne were up 3-1 early in the match before Giraldez and Garpered rallied to tie the score at 4-all. The Cougars were up 5-4 with San Francisco set to serve when the match was abandoned.

Singles

1. Jack Barnett (BYU) vs. Nil Giraldez (USF) 6-4, 2-6, 5-1, unf.
2. No. 123 Wally Thayne (BYU) def. Stevie Gould (USF) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
3. Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Nikola Kuraica (USF) 6-2, 6-2
4. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) def. Davide Cortimiglia (USF) 6-4, 6-1
5. Redd Owen (BYU) vs. Johan Garpered (USF) 2-3, unf.
6. Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Luka Kalenic (USF) 1-1, unf.

Order of finish: 3, 4, 2

Fuchs continued his momentum from doubles at No. 3 singles, going up 4-0 in the opening set. Kuraica recovered to hold his serve in two games but was unable to break Fuchs back, with Fuchs later sealing the 6-2 set win with an ace. Set two also saw Fuchs take an early lead, 3-1, before later leading 5-2. Kuraica survived two match points with Fuchs serving for the match, but Fuchs ultimately earned another 6-2 set victory after his serve was returned out of bounds on deuce point.

A tight first set at No. 4 singles saw Jakovljevic break a 4-all tie by holding his serve and landing a strong forehand winner to win 6-4. Set two was much more comfortable for Jakovljevic, however, as he took a 5-0 lead after winning two break points. He later won 6-1 after a slam at the net earned a deuce point, with his ensuing serve returned long.

Thayne’s first match as a nationally-ranked player started with a quick 6-1 win in set one at No. 2 singles. Gould responded by taking set two 6-4, earning a lone break on deuce point in the final game. Set three was also close until a double fault at 40-all gave Thayne a break and 3-2 advantage. He maintained his lead for the rest of the match, holding his serve in the final game with a shot at the net that sent Gould the wrong way and gave Thayne a 6-4 set win.

The result on the No. 2 court clinched the dual match for BYU, resulting in the remaining singles matches going unfinished. Barnett was up 5-1 in set three at No. 1 singles and serving on match point when the interruption came. He previously took set one 6-4 after winning the final game while receiving with a strong forehand return to Giraldez’s serve. Set two saw San Francisco take a 6-2 win.

No. 5 and No. 6 singles were both in the first set when they went unfinished, and both had BYU rallies after the Cougars trailed early on. Owen went down 3-1 but earned a break point and had a chance to serve for a 3-all scoreline when the dual match concluded. Andrus also capitalized on a break point after losing his serve in the first game of his match, resulting in a 1-all tie.

BYU returns to the court tomorrow, Saturday, April 8, with a match against Santa Clara. The WCC contest begins at 11:00 a.m. MDT from the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts.