BYU Men's Tennis 2023-24 Season Review

PROVO, Utah - BYU men’s tennis closed the 2023-24 season with several accomplishments in its first year as a member of the Big 12, led by first-year head coach Zack Warren and assistant Jonathan Sanchez.

The Cougars finished with an 11-11 record, achieving a 10-match winning streak for the program’s first double-figure victory stretch since the 2018-19 campaign. Despite several close matches and individual triumphs over ranked opponents, the team went 0-8 in a stacked Big 12 slate.

Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs appeared at No. 1 doubles in all 22 dual matches to lead the way in doubles with a 10-6 record, recently being named Big 12 No. 1 Doubles Position Co-Champions in a five-way tie after three wins during conference play. Two of the duo’s three conference wins came against top 55 nationally-ranked opponents to earn them a No. 71 ranking on April 16.

Senior Jack Barnett and sophomore Redd Owen totaled a team-high 11 doubles wins at No. 2 doubles.

Barnett, the team captain, spearheaded the charge in singles at the No. 1 slot in all 20 appearances. He earned a No. 123 national ranking on April 2 following a decisive 6-2, 6-2 home victory over then-No. 27 Baylor’s 50th-ranked Tadeas Paroulek. Barnett also went on a five-match win streak from Jan. 30 to Feb. 24 in addition to taking the nation’s No. 1 ranked Eliot Spizzirri (No. 4 Texas) to a second set tiebreaker on March 28.

Thayne’s 14 singles wins at the No. 2 position led the team as sophomore Redd Owen registered 12 victories at the No. 4 slot.

Freshmen TJ Wells, Tygen Goldammer and David Duong each made at least 19 appearances. Wells and Goldammer competed in 21 of 22 total matches together at No. 3 doubles.

No Cougar missed significant time due to injury. The good fortune marked a reversal from the 2022-23 campaign that saw BYU play 10 different doubles and seven singles lineups in the dual match season. In 2023-24, the doubles lineup remained the same throughout as the singles lineup underwent infrequent changes, staying largely consistent.

Fans came in full force to support. BYU averaged over 350 fans per match, often packing the courts to the point where no seats were available at the start of contests.

Fast Facts
-Overall Record: 11-11
-Big 12: 0-8
-Home: 4-4
-Away: 7-6
-Neutral: 0-1
-Big 12 Finish: 8th, eliminated in opening round of conference tournament

Big 12 Competition
Big 12 play ushered in a change of scenery as six of seven conference opponents were ranked in the top 30, including No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Texas (eventual Big 12 champion). The Cougars scored at least two team points in four of the seven matches, nearly knocking off No. 24 UCF on April 6 in Orlando after a tight 4-3 loss.

In all, BYU faced 14 ranked conference individuals in singles and five ranked duos in doubles play. Wally Thayne’s 2-3 singles winning percentage (0.40) was a team-high at the No. 2 slot. He and Fuchs went 2-2 against ranked Big 12 opponents at No. 1 doubles.

Despite losing powerhouse programs Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC this summer, the Big 12 will welcome Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah on July 1, 2024. Of the four, all but Colorado have a men’s tennis program. Arizona is currently ranked No. 9 while Arizona State sits at No. 21 in the ITA’s latest rankings.

Nonconference Battles
After a 1-3 start, BYU bounced back with 10 straight wins to close out its 14-match nonconference schedule. The Cougars took a trip to the East Coast for the first time since 2020, defeating both North Carolina Central and Radford 6-1 in the first all-time meetings with both schools on Feb. 29 and March 1.

Starting with a home match against Omaha on Jan. 30, the team also notched four sweeps in a row.

Fall Season
The Cougars started the season with six tournaments in the fall, where various players competed individually. Thayne and Fuchs earned spots at the invite-only ITA All-American Championships in October in addition to the ITA National Fall Championships in November. At the ITA National Fall Championships, the pair advanced to the Sweet 16 to become BYU’s first to do so at the event since 2010.

The ITA Mountain Regional Championship was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado in late September to early October. Jack Barnett went 4-0 in singles play to advance to the semifinal round, ultimately not competing in the final two rounds due to Sunday play. Thayne and Fuchs went 5-0 in doubles play to seize the regional crown.

Individual Success Summary

Jack Barnett
- Competed at No. 1 singles for the Cougars in all 20 appearances, totaling a 10-8 record
- Played in seven singles matches against opponents ranked in the top 50, including two matches against Texas's No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri
- Ranked No. 123 (singles) in the April 2 edition of the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
- Defeated Baylor's No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek 6-2, 6-2 on March 30, 2024
- Team-high 11 doubles wins with Redd Owen
- During fall competition, achieved an undefeated (4-0) singles run to the ITA Regional Championship semifinal round, ultimately not competing in the final two rounds due to Sunday play

Brian Chen
-Went 1-0 in singles
-Defeated North Carolina Central's Lucas Artigas in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2

David Duong
- Appeared in 19 matches, all in singles play
-Earned a 7-5 singles record
- Competed at No. 5 singles for five matches and No. 6 singles for 14 contests
- Began the season 7-2, winning three consecutive matches twice

Zach Fuchs
- Ranked No. 71 (doubles) with Wally Thayne in the April 16 edition of ITA rankings
- Played in all 22 dual matches, competing at No. 1 doubles with Thayne in all 22. Competed at No. 3 singles for 19 matches and No. 2 singles against UC Riverside and Radford.
- Tallied two ranked doubles wins in Big 12 play, defeating No. 40 Piotr Pawlak/Sebastian Abboud (Texas Tech) 7-6 (8) and No. 53 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (Texas) 6-2
- Won seven straight singles matches from Jan. 30-Feb. 29 and five doubles matches in a row from Jan. 13-Feb. 9
- Ranked No. 35 (doubles) in ITA's end-of-fall rankings with Thayne
- At the ITA National Fall Championships, he and Thayne defeated Xavier's Ryan Cahill and Pascal Mosberger 6-4, 7-6 (5) to advance to Sweet 16, becoming the first Cougars to do so since 2010
- Fall ITA Mountain Region doubles champion, defeating No. 55 Geronimo Busleiman and Berk Bugarikj (Utah) 5-7, 6-3 [10-4] with Thayne

Tygen Goldammer
- Appeared in 21 of 22 matches, tallying nine singles victories and eight doubles wins with TJ Wells
- Played at No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles for most of the year. Also competed at No. 4 singles in two matches, winning both
- Won seven consecutive singles matches from Jan. 30 to March 1
- Registered first Big 12 singles victory over Oklahoma's Justin Schlageter (1-6, 6-0, 7-5) and seized two doubles wins in Big 12 play

Redd Owen
- Appeared in all 22 dual matches, competing at No. 4 singles in 19 matches and No. 2 doubles with Jack Barnett in all 22
- Second in team singles wins with 12, starting the season 10-2
- 11 of 12 singles wins came in straight sets
- 11-7 mark in doubles play
- Helped BYU clinch the doubles point against No. 24 UCF on April 6 with a 6-3 victory over Santiago Giamichelle/Francisco Llanes

Wally Thayne
- Ranked No. 71 in the April 16 ITA doubles rankings with Zach Fuchs
- Played in all 22 dual matches for both doubles and singles, competing at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles
- 10-6 doubles record with Fuchs marked a team-high winning percentage (.625)
- Team-high 14 singles wins that included three Big 12 victories, finishing 14-6 overall
- Recorded four ranked wins in Big 12 play. In singles, defeated No. 70 Isaac Becroft (Oklahoma State) 6-2, 6-4 and No. 74 Zsombor Velcz (Baylor) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. With Fuchs, he took down No. 40 Piotr Pawlak/Sebastian Abboud (Texas Tech) 7-6 (8) and No. 53 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (Texas) 6-2
- Won eight straight singles matches from Jan. 13-Feb. 22 and five doubles matches in a row from Jan. 13-Feb. 9
- Ranked No. 35 (doubles) in the ITA's end-of-fall rankings with Fuchs
- At the ITA All-American Championships, he and Fuchs defeated Xavier's Ryan Cahill and Pascal Mosberger 6-4, 7-6 (5) to advance to the Sweet 16, becoming the first Cougars to do so since 2010
- Fall ITA Mountain Region doubles champion, defeating No. 55 Geronimo Busleiman and Berk Bugarikj (Utah) 5-7, 6-3 [10-4]
-Fall preseason national singles ranking of No. 103

TJ Wells
- Appeared in all 22 dual matches in doubles along with seven singles appearances
- Compiled eight doubles victories with Tygen Goldammer, including a stretch with six wins in seven matches from Feb. 3-Feb. 29
- Won two doubles matches during Big 12 play with Tygen Goldammer, defeating No. 24 UCF's Paul Colin/Mehdi Benchakroun 7-5 and Texas Tech's Olle Wallin/Niksa Arsic 6-4 to help BYU clinch the doubles point in both contests

Looking Ahead

BYU will miss the contributions of seniors Jack Barnett and Kobe Tran. Both played their entire collegiate careers in the blue and white with Barnett serving as team captain this past season. In total, Barnett appeared in 87 singles along with 91 career doubles matches as Tran recorded 17 singles and nine doubles appearances.

Next season, five-star commit and Owen’s younger brother Hardy Owen will join the Cougars upon his return from a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU also looks ahead to five-star Caden Hasler joining the group for the 2025 season following his return from missionary service.

With valuable experience gained, BYU will continue to prepare for what is needed to face yet another loaded schedule in year two of the Big 12.

Final Team Stats
Individual Match-by-Match Stats