PROVO -- A talented freshman foursome helped clinch BYU's 4-3 win over Weber State on Friday. Orem native A.J. Young, along with teammate Tom Young, recorded BYU's third and fourth points, respectively, to solidify the victory. The No. 68 Cougars also posted a 5-2 win over Utah State earlier in the afternoon. BYU now owns a 2-0 record on the season and continues its traditional success at home.
"It's great being put in the fire and knowing we can pull together as a team and pull through," said BYU head coach Brad Pearce. "For them to win against a tough Utah State team and a good Weber State team is phenomenal. I'm really proud of this team, especially with so many freshman."
After losing the doubles point to USU, the Cougars able to secure the win by competing well in singles. Playing at the No. 1 position, Thomas Shubert pulled through a three-set match (6-2, 4-6, 6-3) against the Aggies' Jakob Asplund. Tom Young, Daniel Hwang, Evan Urbina, and Cassidy Mears, also notched points for the Cougars.
"I think it helped that we lost the doubles point against Utah State," said Pearce. "It forced us to come back and have a good singles performance. The guys believed that we could get it done in singles."
The Cougars' doubles performances against WSU were not enough to secure the point, and once again the team found itself relying on its singles play.
Jonathan Sanchez, who played at the No. 2 spot against USU, suffered from an ankle injury and was pulled from the singles competition. Urbina found himself up one position and playing against a tough Henning Hipp from WSU. After winning 7-5 in the first set, Urbina eventually fell to his German opponent.
"Evan [Urbina]'s a really exciting player," said Pearce. "He's capable of big time tennis. He had a few match points and [Hipp] came up with some pretty good second serves. We identified some things he can work on when it comes to crunch time, but he played a great match."
Once again Hwang found victory, easily securing a point for BYU after his 6-2, 6-1 win. Shubert soon followed with another win of his own, this time against Sascha Kiehne, the Wildcats' No. 1 player.
As the match wound down , the Cougars' only hope to come out on top rested on the shoulders of two freshmen, Tom and A.J. Young. Their 6-4, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2 wins, respectively, pushed BYU to the top and put the finishing touch on a successful day.
Up next the Cougars will prepare to take on Eastern Washington at home on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
No. 68 BYU-5 Utah State-2
Doubles
1. Asplund/Tyden (USU) def. Mears/Sanchez (BYU), 9-8
2. Ericsson/Gallegos (USU) def. Hwang/Urbina (BYU), 8-6
3. Shubert/T. Young (BYU) def. Searle/Banks (USU), 9-8
Singles
1. T. Shubert (BYU) def. J. Asplund (USU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
2. O. Ericsson (USU) def. J. Sanchez (BYU), 6-7, 2-3 (ret.)
3. E. Urbina (BYU) def. F. Gallegos (USU), 6-1, 6-1
4. C. Mears (BYU) def. J. Tyden (USU), 6-7, 6-0, 7-5
5. D. Hwang (BYU) def. M. Banks (USU), 6-3, 6-4
5. T. Young (BYU) def. M. Searle (USU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 68 BYU-4
Weber State-3
Doubles
1. Kiehne/Mancarella (WSU) def. Mears/Sanchez (BYU), 8-3
2. Hipp/Plum (WSU) def. Hwang/Urbina (BYU), 8-6
3. Shubert/T. Young (BYU) def. Covington/Marchant (WSU), 8-4
Singles
1. T. Shubert (BYU) def. S. Kiehne (WSU), 6-4, 6-3
2. H. Hipp (WSU) def. E. Urbina (BYU), 5-7, 6-3, 7-6
3. F. Mancarella (WSU) def. C. Mears (BYU), 7-5, 7-6
4. D. Hwang (BYU) def. N. Plum (WSU), 6-2, 6-1
5. T. Young (BYU) def. T. Covington (WSU), 6-4, 6-2
5. A. Young (BYU) def. Williams (WSU), 6-2, 6-2