PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis opened its season with a 6-1 win over Weber State on Friday night at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts.
“Great work from the team,” said BYU Head Coach Zack Warren. "They took their winter break seriously and trained hard to be ready for tonight's matchup. That is a very good Weber state team that will compete for a conference championship this year."
Doubles Results
Wally Thayne/Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Connor Kruger/Ken Minh (WSU) 7-6 (7-5)
Redd Owen/Otto Schreiner (BYU) def. Tristan Sarap/William Gulch (WSU) 6-4
Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) def. Jordan Coutinho/Liam Day (WSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
BYU’s Goldammer and Wells got the winning started for the Cougars in the doubles play. Owen and Schreiner followed closely with a win of the same score. Fuchs and Thayne were down in the middle of a tiebreak as the teams decided to play it out. The Cougars fought back in the tiebreak to finish the sweep of the doubles play.
"Wally (Thayne) and Zach (Fuchs) came through with a nationally-ranked doubles win at the No. 1 spot tonight," Warren said. "That Weber State duo is one of the best double teams in our region, winning the ITA regional title and playing in the National Championship."
Singles Results
Tristan Sarap (WSU) def. Wally Thayne (BYU) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
Redd Owen (BYU) def. Connor Kruger (WSU) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Jordan Coutinho (WSU) 6-3 6-3
Adam Chodur (BYU) def. Ken Minh (WSU) 6-2 6-4
Tygen Goldammer (BYU) def. Liam Day (WSU) 6-4 6-4
TJ Wells (BYU) def. Theo Mottier (WSU) 6-4 6-2
Thayne and Sarap had a very close first set. In the tiebreak, Thayne got down early and despite his winning a couple of points in a row, it proved too much as he lost the first set. The second set was much of the same, neither able to get much ground on the other’s serve. Sarap was able to break Thayne at 4-3 and use that momentum to finish the match.
Owen and Kruger had an eventful first set as each had multiple breaks of serve. They finished in a tiebreak that Owen was able to take control of late and finish the set. With this momentum, Owen was able to dictate the second set and win the match.
Fuchs got out to a slow start as he dropped the first two games. He then found his serve and was able to hold it throughout the rest of the match. As he threw in a couple of breaks it helped him secure the point.
Chodur was making his first dual-match appearance as a Cougar. He was solid throughout the first, not dropping a service game and breaking twice. He had a similar formula in the second but suffered a break at 5-2. Despite Minh’s best efforts, Chodur was able to finish the match on serve at 6-4.
Goldammer's win came in the first of the second wave of matches to be played, with four courts available for use. He was able to stay solid throughout the night in a close contest with Day. Goldammer’s big serve helped him to stay on serve in both sets and he was able to get late breaks to put Day away.
Wells and Mottier had a tight first set. Wells jumped out to an early break but then was broken, and they traded games back and forth. It wasn’t until late in the first set he was able to take control and win the set 6-4. With the momentum from the first set, he was able to be in the driver’s seat for much of the second and put the match away.
"Fantastic effort from Otto (Schreiner), who played in his first dual match after returning from his mission and Adam (Chodur) who secured his first dual-match win as a Cougar," Warren said. "Collectively, top to bottom, it was a great effort and once again a packed house. Thanks for the amazing support from Cougar Nation."
Up Next
The Cougars will be back in action on Jan. 31 as they head to Portland to face Portland State. They will have back-to-back matches on their road trip with the University of Oregon on Feb. 1.