TULSA, Okla. – Men’s tennis players Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs competed at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thayne and Fuchs entered the tournament as the country’s preseason No. 11 doubles team and competed in the vent for a second time.
The duo got off to a strong start on Sept. 25, picking up their first win in the Round of 32 against a ranked Middle Tennessee team in two sets. The match was back and forth, with both teams struggling to break serve. Thayne and Fuchs ultimately won both sets in tiebreaks, 7-1 in the first and 7-3 in the second.
The victory advanced them to the Sweet 16, where they faced another ranked pairing from LSU. They started strong, winning the first set 6-3. After a hard-fought second set, they fell in a tiebreaker, 7-2, forcing a third-set super tiebreak. Both teams looked strong, but the Cougars ultimately lost, 11-9, and were eliminated from the tournament.
This marked the farthest run for the pairing in the main bracket at this tournament. The Cougars will next face Idaho State on Oct. 4-5.