CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A trip to Texas for BYU men’s tennis concluded with a 4-0 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday afternoon. The Islanders secured the doubles point in two matches and locked up the dual match win with three straight-set singles victories.
The Cougars (3-6, 1-0 WCC) had Wally Thayne in the lead at No. 1 singles, but he did not have the opportunity to see out the win as his and the other remaining singles matches went unfinished once A&M-Corpus Christi secured the dual match.
BYU played shorthanded for the second-consecutive day due to injuries.
"Wally Thayne played well today and had match point when the contest was called," said BYU head coach Dave Porter. "Changes are coming. We will be ready next week."
Doubles
- Zach Fuchs/Brigham Andrus (BYU) vs. Avery Zavala/Pascal Lorieul (Islanders) 4-5, unf.
- Nathan Schwartz/Tomas Quesada Perez (Islanders) def. Wally Thayne/Brian Chen (BYU) 6-3
- Ulysse Bertrand/Lucas Schurdevin (Islanders) def. Redd Owen/Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2
An early break put the Islanders up 3-0 at No. 3 doubles. Owen and Jakovljevic recovered to only trail 4-2 but another break from Bertrand and Schurdevin gave A&M-Corpus Christi the 6-2 win.
BYU also fell behind at No. 2 doubles as Thayne and Chen faced a 3-1 deficit. The pair rallied to tie the match at 3-all but Schwartz and Quesada Perez added two more break points to win 6-3. The match was Chen’s first career dual match doubles appearance for the Cougars.
No. 1 doubles went unfinished as the point was already decided. Fuchs and Andrus were locked in a close match, trailing 5-4 at the time of interruption. Zavala and Lorieul had the opportunity to serve in the next game.
Singles
- Wally Thayne (BYU) vs. Avery Zavala (Islanders) 7-5, 5-3, unf.
- Pascal Lorieul (Islanders) def. Zach Fuchs (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
- Nathan Schwartz (Islanders) def. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) 6-2, 6-4
- Redd Owen (BYU) vs. Matthieu Peres (Islanders) 3-6, 4-2, unf.
- Ulysse Bertrand (Islanders) def. Brigham Andrus (BYU) 6-0, 6-1
- Brian Chen (BYU) vs. Tomas Quesada Perez (Islanders) 6-2, 5-3, unf.
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3
Andrus, who is still working his way back from injuries, fell in quick order at No. 5 singles. Bertrand took the first set 6-0, with Andrus responding to start out the second tied 1-1. But A&M-Corpus Christi would win the next five games to secure a 6-1 set victory.
A&M-Corpus Christi’s next point came at No. 2 singles. Lorieul had a comfortable lead in set one, winning 6-2, but Fuchs made the next set much closer. Fuchs was down 3-1 before coming back to earn a 4-all tie. The comeback ended there, however, as Lorieul won two-straight games to take set two 6-4.
The dual match was clinched at No. 3 singles. A&M-Corpus Christi once again took the first set 6-2 before Jakovljevic fought back in the second. Set two was decided by a narrow one-break advantage as Schwartz ultimately held off Jakovljevic to win 6-4.
Thayne was on the verge of victory at No. 1 singles when the rest of the matches went unfinished. He broke a 5-5 tie in set one by holding his serve and winning the next game while receiving to take the set 7-5. Set two also saw Thayne with an advantage. He was leading 5-3 and set to serve on match point when the interruption came.
BYU also had momentum at No. 4 singles. Owen dropped the first set 6-3, but he won four-straight games in the second to lead 4-1. Peres picked up a game right before the stoppage to put Owen’s advantage at 4-2.
No. 6 singles saw Chen behind in both sets, with Quesada Perez winning the first 6-2 and leading 5-3 in the second. Chen recovered after going down 3-1 in set two to only trail 4-3 at one point.
The Cougars return to Utah next week but continue an eight-match road trip with a visit to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. That match begins Saturday, March 11, at 2:00 p.m. MST.