PROVO, Utah - BYU men’s tennis earned a 7-0 home-opener victory over Omaha in front of a near-capacity crowd of over 300 fans in attendance at the Indoor Tennis Courts on Tuesday.
The Cougars demonstrated plenty of grit, emerging as winners in all five tiebreakers that took place. Junior Zach Fuchs accounted for two tiebreaks in his straight sets triumph in addition to Jack Barnett, Wally Thayne and Tygen Goldammer.
“The energy between the players and Cougar Nation was special tonight,” said BYU men’s tennis head coach Zack Warren. “Really proud of the team. They played high level tennis against a very good Omaha team. We’ll get back to work and prepare for Montana State on Saturday. It’s another great opportunity to play in front of our incredible home crowd.”
With the win, BYU improves to 2-3 on the season and 1-0 at home.
Doubles
1. Wally Thayne/Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Mikhail Korkunov/Bryan Kuntz (Omaha) 6-3
2. Jack Barnett/Redd Owen (BYU) def. Quintan Van Wijk/Ryoma Mishiro (Omaha) 6-1
3. Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) vs. Ethan Gaubert/Gabe Whiston (Omaha) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
The first doubles point earned by the Cougars came courtesy of No. 2 tandem Barnett and Redd Owen. After registering a break and up 2-1, Owen served in a game that kickstarted a run of five straight wins.
On court one, No. 35 Thayne and Fuchs began with each team holding serve. With the duo tied 2-2, they held serve again and got a pivotal break to take a 4-2 advantage. Up 5-3 later with Fuchs serving, he fired off two aces, including on the team doubles clinching point.
Goldammer and Wells competed on court three, trading momentum with the Mavericks before the match went unfinished as the Cougars held a 4-3 advantage.
Singles
1. Jack Barnett (BYU) def. Ryoma Mishiro (Omaha) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2)
2. Wally Thayne (BYU) def. Mikhail Korkunov (Omaha) 7-6 (5), 7-5
3. Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Quintan Van Wijk (Omaha) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4)
4. Redd Owen (BYU) def. Bryan Kuntz (Omaha) 6-2, 6-2
5. Tygen Goldammer (BYU) def. Ethan Gaubert (Omaha) 7-6 (3), 6-4
6. David Duong (BYU) def. Mikel Garmendia (Omaha) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6
Owen won on court four first, defeating Bryan Kuntz 6-2, 6-2 in the night’s shortest match. Kuntz served first and Owen found himself down 1-2 before rattling off seven straight game wins between set one and two. In the first set, the sophomore won every point of the final game, capped off by a gentle shot from the baseline that Kuntz nailed into the net. In set two, Owen went up 3-1 before splitting games made it 4-2. He then recorded a break before winning yet another set-deciding game with no points lost.
Next, Thayne scored a tighter win over Mikhail Korkunov in straight sets. Tied 2-2, each traded four breaks to make it 4-4. Later, the first set was decided by a tiebreaker that stayed even throughout. At set point (6-5) for Thayne, both approached the net as Thayne floated a gentle shot that Korkunov returned into the net. In set two, Thayne found himself down 4-5. The junior then both held serve and recorded a break without losing a point. Serving for the win, Thayne approached the net to force a no-man’s land error and win 7-5.
Both of Fuchs’ sets ended in tiebreaker wins. In the first set, Fuchs trailed 2-4 before serving a game with no points lost. He then forced a break. At 4-4, Fuchs held serve to go up 5-4 before a deuce point for the set flew into the net. Both then held serves to force a tiebreak. The junior went up 5-0 before the lead was narrowed to 5-4. Fuchs then landed an authoritative serve to win 7-5. The second set margin never exceeded one as Fuchs earned a second set tiebreak after being down 5-6. Fuchs registered multiple aces, including a second serve sealer to win 7-4 and clinch the team victory.
In a lengthy three set match, Barnett won at No. 1 singles. The senior cruised to a 6-2 first set victory over Ryoma Mishiro before the momentum shifted. Mishiro jumped out to a 5-2 second set lead, but Barnett held serve and notched a break on a deuce point. He held serve again to make it 5-5, but two straight deuce point losses resulted in a 5-7 setback. Despite going up 3-1 in the third set, Mishiro won five of the next seven games to go up 6-5. Barnett imposed his will with powerful serves to force a tiebreak. He found momentum early, winning on Mishiro’s serve twice. Up 6-2, Mishiro’s second serve sailed long as Barnett won.
On court five, Goldammer jumped out to a 4-3 lead. Opponent Ethan Gaubert held serve before Goldammer responded with strong serves to go up 5-4. A first set tiebreaker ensued after both held serve. Goldammer jumped ahead to a 7-3 tiebreaker victory. In the second set, the freshman went up 4-3 again. Up 40-15 and serving, Gaubert’s return sailed long. Up 5-3 at deuce point, the freshman dropped the game before holding serve to win the set 6-4.
The match concluded with David Duong’s 6-3, 6-4 win in straight sets over Mikel Garmendia. A break helped the freshman go up 5-3 in the first set. With the game score at 40-30, a long rally was returned into the net by Garmendia. Despite going up 2-0 early in the second set, the lead became 3-2 after Duong lost on deuce point. Up 5-3, Duong earned a set point by wearing out his opponent and getting an angled winner at the net. He later lost at 40-40 to set up a 40-0 lead on his serve, claiming the match with an approach winner aimed left.
The Cougars will remain at home with another match this week, hosting Montana State on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 11 a.m. Watch or follow along with live stats.