BOISE, Idaho — BYU men’s tennis picked up four wins Friday as three Cougars competed at the General Patton Invite, hosted by Boise State.
Redd Owen and TJ Wells each advanced past the first round in doubles play together and in singles before falling in the second rounds of competition. Brian Chen lost in the opening round in singles play, but won in the ensuing consolation stage.
Owen and Wells’ opening round doubles victory came over Brady Thomas (Eastern Washington) and Philipp Rein (Utah State) 6-2 in the main draw’s opening round of 32. The duo notched an early break and then held serve on the next game, capped with a slam by Owen at the net to go up 2-0. Thomas and Rein held serve next before the Cougars overcame a 40-15 deficit to go up 3-1. A Wells backhand winner down the line gave the duo another break and a 4-1 advantage as the pair held serve the rest of the way to advance.
Owen’s main draw singles win came over Portland State’s Simon Kuszynski in straight sets (6-3, 6-2). In a nearly two-hour quarterfinal match, the sophomore came up short in a tightly-contested 6-4, 6-4 loss to Idaho’s Francisco Gay.
TJ Wells rebounded from an early first set loss (6-3) in the first round, proceeding to swing the momentum in his favor as he took down Idaho’s Yu-Shun Lai 6-2, 6-4 in the final two sets. Wells then faced Kyvan Rietkerk of Boise State, claiming a hard-fought, first set tiebreak win with a 7-6 (5) performance before running out of steam and falling 6-2, 6-4.
Brian Chen faced off with Idaho’s Alex Asenov (Idaho) and kept it close early, holding serve for the first two games before eventually falling 6-3 in the first set. Asenov continued the momentum in the second set as Chen fell 6-0. In the consolation round, Chen rebounded with a resilient 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Eastern Washington’s Brady Thomas. The triumph marked the sophomore’s first singles win during the fall season.
Friday Results & Up Next:
Doubles Main Draw
Owen/Wells def. Brady Thomas (Eastern Washington)/Philipp Rein (Utah State) 6-2
Andras Necz/Maximillian Relic (Montana State) def. Owen/Wells 6-2
Flight A Singles - East Draw
Round of 16: Owen def. Simon Kuszynski (Portland State) 6-3, 6-2
Quarterfinals: Francisco Gay (Idaho) def. Redd Owen 6-4, 6-4
Up Next: North draw semifinal round vs. Andras Necz (Montana State) at 12:30 pm Saturday
Flight B Singles - East Draw
Round of 16: Wells def. Yu-Shun Lai (Idaho) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinals: Kyvan Rietkerk (Boise State) def. Wells 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4
Up Next: North draw semifinal round vs. Tyler Dalos (Eastern Washington) at 11 a.m. Saturday
Flight C Singles - Main Draw, Group 1
Alex Asenov (Idaho) def. Chen 6-3, 6-0
Chen def. Brady Thomas (Eastern Washington) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Up Next: vs. Kristian Peev (Portland State) at 10 a.m. Saturday
The Cougars will take the court again Saturday morning, beginning with Chen’s singles match at 10 a.m. MDT. Follow the results here or stream live.
Main Image Photo Credit: Air Force Athletics