IRVINE, Calif. - The fourth road match of the season for BYU men’s tennis saw the Cougars fall 6-1 to UC Irvine. Wally Thayne won his singles match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 as the junior also won his doubles match with teammate Zach Fuchs 6-4.
Doubles
1. No. 35 Zach Fuchs/Wally Thayne (BYU) def. Brandon Park/Noah Zamora (UCI) 6-4
2. Andy Nguyen/Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) def. Jack Barnett/Redd Owen (BYU) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Enrique Luque Rico/Matthew Sah (UCI) def. Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
The Cougars earned their only doubles victory on court one first as No. 35-ranked Thayne and Fuchs moved to 2-1 together on the season. Freshman duo Tygen Goldammer and TJ Wells then fell 7-5 in a tight match.
The team point was claimed by the Anteaters after Andy Nguyen and Hiroki Sakagawa won a roller coaster set over Jack Barnett and Redd Owen, ending in a 8-6 tiebreaker. The senior/sophomore pair of Cougars found themselves down 5-2 before storming back to take a 6-5 lead and serve for the match. The Anteaters then earned a break before securing the narrow tiebreaker win.
Singles
1. Enrique Luque Rico (UCI) def. Jack Barnett (BYU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. Wally Thayne (BYU) def. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 6-4, 7-5
3. Noah Zamora (UCI) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Andy Nguyen (UCI) def. Zach Fuchs (BYU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-1), 10-3
5. Rithvik Krishna (UCI) def. Tygen Goldammer (BYU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Lawee Sherif (UCI) def. David Duong (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 6, 3, 2, 4, 1
On court five, freshman Tygen Goldammer hung tight before suffering a 6-4 setback in the opening set. Goldammer then lost 6-3 in the second set as the Anteaters went up 2-0 in the team tally. Following David Duong’s lengthy three set victory at Loyola Marymount yesterday, which included a tiebreaker in the second set, the freshman lost on court six 6-2, 6-3.
The match clincher then came on court three with Owen at No. 3 singles for the first time this season. The sophomore battled consistently, but a pair of pivotal breaks gave way to a loss in straight sets at 6-4, 6-4 as the Cougars’ last remaining unbeaten in singles dropped to 3-1 on the season.
With the teams agreeing to play out the final three singles matches, Thayne won the next in straight sets at the No. 2 slot. After claiming the first set 6-4, the junior and UC Irvine’s Sakagawa found themselves tied at 5-5. Thayne remained steady, notching a crucial break to seize the second set 7-5.
The final two matches ended in UC Irvine’s favor. After winning 7-5 in the opening set, Fuchs dropped a second set tiebreaker before the final set was decided by a super tiebreaker, with the junior falling 10-3. Barnett then suffered a defeat on court one. The senior lost the first set 6-3 before bouncing right back to win set two at 6-3. In the final set, Barnett trailed 5-2 before ultimately falling 6-4 as the Anteaters claimed the 6-1 team victory.
BYU will head home for a two-game stretch at the Indoor Tennis Courts, with the 2024 home opener slated for Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. against Omaha. Follow along with live stats or watch here.