PROVO, Utah — Jack Barnett and Wally Thayne recorded ranked singles wins Saturday night at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts as BYU men’s tennis fell 4-2 to No. 27 Baylor on Senior Night.
Barnett’s dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek marked the senior’s first career top-50 ranked win in dual match play. Wally Thayne’s three-set triumph over No. 74 Zsombor Velcz (5-7, 6-4, 6-4) gave the junior his third ranked win in Big 12 play, most recently defeating Texas’ No. 53-ranked duo on Thursday with teammate Zach Fuchs.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team today,” said assistant coach Jonathan Sanchez. “They competed to the best of their ability under some very difficult circumstances brought on by Baylor. Though we didn’t get the win today, we kept our composure and showed the highest level of professionalism.”
Doubles
1. No. 40 Zsombor Velcz/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Wally Thayne/Zach Fuchs (BYU) 7-6 (6)
2. Devin Badenhorst/Luc Koenig (BU) def. Jack Barnett/Redd Owen (BYU) 7-5
3. Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) vs. Christopher Frantzen/Oskar Brostrom (BU) 6-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
After the Bears went up 4-3 on Barnett and Owen at No. 2 doubles, Owen scooped for a return near the service line that was returned into the net to make it 4-4. The Cougar combo aimed for a break at 5-5 on deuce point, but Baylor’s serve drilled the top of the net and gently bounced over to claim the point. The Bears then earned a break to win 7-5.
Thayne and Fuchs finished next on court one. With both teams holding serve, the tandem erased a 15-40 deficit with Thayne serving to go up 4-3. The deuce point saw Thayne and Fuchs hold strong on their volleys as Thayne extended for a backhander that was returned long. With Thayne serving at 5-5, the Cougars won every point, including an ace. Baylor then forced a tiebreaker, and despite a 6-4 lead, the Bears won four straight to claim it 8-6.
Tygen Goldammer and TJ Wells’ match went unfinished while leading at match point 40-30 and the game score at 6-5. Down 2-3, the duo overcame a 0-30 deficit to win four straight points. The squads continued to trade off holding serves before Wells hit a backhand approach winner angled left near the service line to earn a break and go ahead 6-5.
Singles
1. Jack Barnett (BYU) def. No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek (Baylor) 6-2, 6-2
2. Wally Thayne (BYU) def. No. 74 Zsombor Velcz (Baylor) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
3. No. 88 Devin Badenhorst (Baylor) def. Zach Fuchs (BYU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7)
4. Louis Bowden (Baylor) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Luc Koenig (Baylor) def. Tygen Goldammer (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
6. David Duong (BYU) vs. Oskar Brostrom (Baylor) 3-6, 1-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5
Barnett put his foot on the gas early in the impressive 6-2, 6-2 takedown of No. 50 Paroulek. His second break came after a backhand baseline shot skimmed the net and zipped down the line to put him ahead 4-1. Later up 5-2, the senior served a perfect game, winning the set on a strong cross-court winner and an error from Paroulek. Similar to set one, Barnett continued to impose his will at the baseline and net, keeping returns near the baseline and winning 6-2 again.
“Jack and Wally were definitely the highlights of the day,” Sanchez said. “They played some phenomenal tennis, elevating their game to a next level to pull out some hard-fought wins. I think it was probably some of the best tennis I’ve seen from these two all season.”
Thayne’s victory over No. 74 began with 5-7 first set loss. Despite trailing 2-3 in the set two, Thayne won four of the final five games to claim the second set. He earned a pivotal break to take a 4-3 lead and didn’t look back. In set three, Thayne held serve with a putaway volley to go up 3-1 and later went up 5-1. Velcz countered with three straight wins, but Thayne held steady, serving a perfect game to win 6-4.
Owen started off set one on court four with a 3-0 lead, but Baylor’s Louis Bowden gained momentum, registering a few breaks to win 6-3. Set two started with the sophomore trailing 0-4 before cutting the deficit in half to 2-4. Bowden then recorded a break and went on to win 6-2.
On court three, Fuchs dropped a tight three-set heartbreaker. After falling 3-6, he jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set two. Up 4-2, Fuchs held serve and then registered another break to win 6-2. He continued the strong play, earning a break to go up 5-3 and serve for the win, but his opponent forced a 5-5 tie. Fuchs then quickly went up 40-0, built in part by an ace to go up 6-5 before a tiebreaker. After an early 4-1 lead, the gap was closed and Fuchs fell 7-9.
Goldammer’s match at No. 1 singles ended at 4-6, 2-6. The freshman held serve until the final game of set one before opponent Luc Keonig registered key breaks to take command of set two. David Duong’s match went unfinished as the freshman fell 3-6 in the first set and was tied at 1-1 as the match concluded.
Up Next
BYU will take on No. 3 TCU on Thursday, April 4 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Start time is yet to be determined. Follow along with live stats.