LAS VEGAS — BYU men’s tennis played in the second day of play at the ITA Mountain Regionals in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday.
“The team competed hard today and a few fell short but the support they all gave each other both on and off the court was inspiring and what this program is all about,” said Coach Jonathan Sanchez.
After a strong first day, the Cougars faced tough matchups and challenging conditions, with wind gusts reaching 40 mph. BYU went 8-for-15 in its singles match play and advanced two players, Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs, to the next round. In doubles, the Cougars went 5-4 in their nine matches and have one team remaining with Thayne and Fuchs still in play as well.
“Zach and Wally were the highlights of the day winning their second-round of doubles and both their second-round singles matches in three very grueling sets,” said coach Sanchez.
In singles, the team had nine players competing throughout the day. Thayne and Fuchs highlighted the day as they each earned two wins.
Fuchs defeated Air Force Academy's Phillip Deaton in a lengthy three-set match, overcoming a first-set loss to win 5-7, 7-6 (12-10), 6-2. He then took on Fernando Perez Rodenas from the University of Montana. Fuchs split the first two sets with Rodenas. The third set was a battle back and forth and was eventually forced to a tiebreak in which Fuchs won 7-2, ending the match 7-5, 2-6, 7-6.
Thayne got off to a good start as he beat Utah State’s Mohommad Alkotop in two sets 6-3, 7-5. He moved on to the next round to face Rikuto Yamaguchi from the University of Denver. Thayne and Yamaguchi had a long two sets with the second going to a tiebreak. In the final set, Thayne took control and ended the match, finishing the score 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
Hardy Owen, David Duong and Otto Schreiner ran into tough matchups in the first round as they were knocked out. Hardy Owen lost his match in two sets to Weber State’s Tristan Sarap. After dropping the first set he fought hard for the second but eventually fell short in a tiebreak, 6-3, 7-6. Duong lost his match against Youssef Kadiri from the University of Nevada despite a close second set, 6-2, 6-4. Schreiner had a tough match against Carson Baker and after a close first set that ended in a tiebreak, Schreiner couldn’t grab a set and lost 7-6, 6-4.
Adam Chodur, Redd Owen, TJ Wells and Tygen Goldammer all were able to pick up first-round wins. Chodur beat Emmett Potter from Utah in two sets 7-5, 6-2. He then moved on to face Utah State’s David Martirosian in the second round. After dropping the first set Chodur battled back to take the second. In the end, he couldn’t beat Martirosian in the third and was knocked out 3-6, 6-2, 4-6.
Redd Owen picked up a two-set win in the first round against Idaho’s Gabriel Moroder 6-2, 7-5. He faced James Van Herzeele from Boise State in the second round. Van Herzeele proved to be too much as he eliminated Redd Owen in two sets 4-6, 2-6.
Goldammer had a tough straight-set victory against University of Nevada’s Gregoire Valente as he advanced 7-5, 7-5. In the next round, he played Arjun Kersten from Air Force Academy. Goldammer forced another tight two sets but dropped both to Kersten. After dropping a tight first set 6-4 Goldammer battled back and forced the second set to a tiebreak that he lost 7-5, the final score being 6-4, 7-6.
Wells got off to a quick start winning the first set 6-1 against Utah’s Maximillian Relic. After a first set controlled by Wells, Relic fought back but Wells was able to manage the storm and win in a second set tiebreaker 7-1, ending the match 6-1, 7-6. Wells then faced Aram Noroozian from the University of New Mexico in the second round. Wells dropped the first set 4-6 but was able to battle back and win the second 6-4 forcing a third set. In the end, Noroozian proved to be too much as Wells dropped the match 4-6, 6-4, 2-6.
In the doubles bracket the Cougars had four teams competing. Thayne and Fuchs picked up a win 8-6 in their set against a Boise State pairing. This was the lone Cougar pairing to win on Friday and punch their ticket to the Round of 16.
Schreiner and Hardy Owen played a Boise State pair that they forced a tiebreak against. In the tiebreak, they fell short losing 7-3 as they dropped the set 8-7. Duong and Alex Edmonston took on an Idaho State team that eliminated them in an 8-2 set. The final Cougar pairing to compete were Chodur and Redd Owen. They faced a tough Weber State team that they went back and forth with throughout the set but in the end, were not able to prevail as they dropped the set 6-8.
Thayne was the last match going at 9 p.m. and will start again on Saturday in doubles. They begin play at 9 a.m. against a team from the University of Montana, and they both compete in singles play Fuchs will play Jett Middleton from Boise State and Thayne will play Northern Arizona’s Daniel Torres both at 10:15 a.m.