PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s tennis is set to play host at the Indoor Tennis Courts for the first time this season, welcoming Omaha (2-3) on Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. MST and Montana State on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
The Cougars (1-3) look to bounce back after road losses at Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine last week. Despite the team losses, No. 35-ranked doubles tandem Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs went unbeaten in doubles after a 6-4 win over UC Irvine’s top doubles team and a 5-5 unfinished match at LMU.
Thayne went 2-0 last week at No. 2 singles, defeating LMU’s Sebastian Nothhaft decisively at 6-2, 6-2 and UC Irvine’s Hiroki Sakagawa 6-4, 7-5. The junior is now 3-1 in singles play on the year.
Redd Owen also stands at 3-1 in singles after a team-leading 3-0 start, moving to compete at No. 3 singles in last Friday’s match at UC Irvine.
Freshmen TJ Wells, Tygen Goldammer, and David Duong have earned spots in the lineups, with Goldammer appearing in singles and doubles for each match this season. Wells and Goldammer have been slotted at No. 3 doubles while Duong appeared in the most recent two matches at No. 6 singles. Duong won his first collegiate match at LMU last week in a resilient three-set victory over Alex Padro Parra 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4.
Omaha Notes
- 2023-24 record: 2-3
- After starting 2-1, Omaha has lost two straight, with a 7-0 setback at Nebraska and 4-3 loss at Wichita State last week.
- The Mavericks went 13-11 last season, with a 5-9 mark on the road and a fourth-place finish in the Summit League.
- Omaha is led by Matthew Barlow, who is in his fourth season as head coach with a 37-46 record.
- Five of eight roster members are returners.
- Tuesday’s match marks the Mavericks’ fourth road match of the season and second against a Big 12 opponent in their first six matches. The Mavericks opened the season at Oklahoma State.
Series Information
- Series record: BYU leads 1-0
- Last meeting: BYU won 7-0 on Jan. 30, 2015 at the Indoor Tennis Courts
Montana State
- 2023-24 record: 4-0
- The Bobcats went 0-2 last season. The very limited match number was due to a high volume of injuries that left the team with few student-athletes available to compete, resulting in substantial cancellations.
- Montana State is led by Rob Bareford, who is currently in his second season as head coach of the Bobcats (4-2).
- Three of eight roster members return from last year.
- Saturday’s match marks the first of 11 consecutive road matches for Montana State.
Series Information
- Series record: BYU leads 17-1
- Last meeting: BYU won 7-0 on March 29, 2021 at the Indoor Tennis Courts