TULSA, Okla. — BYU’s Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs competed in the qualifying draw at the ITA All-American Championships Monday, with both matches ending in tightly-contested losses.
An invite-only tournament, Thayne represented the Cougars in both singles and doubles for the second straight year. The selection marked a first for Fuchs as the junior earned a doubles selection.
Just two days removed from winning the main draw doubles title at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships, Thayne and Fuchs dropped a third set, super tiebreaker in the opening round of 64 to Cal’s Derrick Chen and Carl Emil Overbeck with a score of 6-2, 6-7 (5), [8-10]. After the heartbreaker, the duo is now 7-2 in doubles play for the fall season thus far.
“Zach and Wally played high-level tennis in Colorado over the weekend and again today,” said BYU head coach Zack Warren. “Throughout the week, they’ve fought, made adjustments, and given themselves opportunities to win matches, which continued today.”
Thayne, currently ranked No. 103 in singles nationally, competed in the round of 128 and fell to Ohio State’s Bryce Nakashima 1-6, 7-6 (1), 4-6. The Newbury Park, California native showed resolve after a tough first set with a dominating, 7-1 tiebreaker victory to close out the second set before coming up just short in the final set.
“They came up short in two three-set battles in matches that could not have been any closer,” Warren said. “Both know the level they’re striving for and will keep working towards it as they prepare for Fall Nationals.”
With the duo headed to the ITA National Fall Championships on Nov. 1-5 in San Diego and a petition pending for Jack Barnett as a wild card singles entry, BYU men’s tennis will not compete in the originally scheduled UCSB Classic this upcoming weekend. Instead, the squad will head back to Provo and prepare for the General Patton Bronco Invitational in Boise, Idaho slated for Oct. 20-21.