Fuchs and Thayne advance to second round of ITA National Fall Championships

Zach Fuchs and Wally Thayne seized a straight sets victory in the opening round of 32 at the ITA National Fall Championships, taking down Xavier’s duo of Ryan Cahill and Pascal Mosberger 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs advance to round of 16 at 2023 ITA National Fall ChampionshipsWally Thayne and Zach Fuchs advance to round of 16 at 2023 ITA National Fall Championships

SAN DIEGO — Zach Fuchs and Wally Thayne seized a straight sets victory in the opening round of 32 at the ITA National Fall Championships, taking down Xavier’s duo of Ryan Cahill and Pascal Mosberger 6-4, 7-6 (5).

With the win, the juniors became just the second and third Cougars in program history to advance past the first round of the event since it began in 2017 - BYU alum Mateo Vereau also advanced on the opening day of the 2019 singles bracket.

"I'm really proud of Zach and Wally. They're excited to be in the Sweet 16 of the Fall National Championships, something they've worked really hard to earn. These are the best teams in the country and they were completely ready to represent the Cougars at the highest level today. They were able to stay solid in the toughest moments and advance against a very good team."

Zack WarrenBYU head men's tennis coach

The match started even as both teams rotated holding serve. With the first set knotted at 3-3 and game score at 40-40, Fuchs and Thayne got a pivotal break as Thayne powered a down-the-line backhand shot off the serve to take a 4-3 advantage. Thayne’s serve and Fuch’s net play proved too much in the following game as the Cougars went up 5-3 and later claimed set one at 6-4.

Xavier’s Cahil and Mosberger remained steady, holding serve through the first several games to take a 4-3 lead. The Cougars responded with a win to make it 4-4 and then got a break, holding on for a winning point with the game score at 40-40 after initially leading 40-0.

Against the wall, Cahil and Mosberger got a break of their own to make it 5-5 before the Cougars went up 40-0 in the next game. Thayne finished off the game with another shot down the line to make it 6-5. Despite three match points, Xavier forced a second set tiebreaker. Strong pressure at the net by both Thayne and Fuchs made it 3-1 for BYU early. The Cougars then went up 6-1 and dropped the next four match points before holding on to claim the 7-5 tiebreaker triumph.

Round of 16 competition will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT against Ohio State’s No. 19 Robert Cash and JJ Tracy. Tune in to the ITA’s live stream or follow the live stats.

Considered the grand finale to the collegiate tennis season, the ITA National Fall Championships features 32 of the nation’s top men’s singles players and 32 men’s doubles teams. One round is played each day.