DALLAS — BYU men’s tennis concluded its fall campaign at SMU's Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge on Saturday, with both doubles teams notching victories in addition to singles wins for Jack Barnett and Redd Owen.
“Overall, it was a much better day of competition,” said BYU men’s tennis assistant coach Jonathan Sanchez. “We played with some better intensity today, which translated into wins in both doubles and singles.”
Owen and Barnett began the day in doubles with a 7-5 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Avery Zavala and Etienne Marty. With the win, the tandem improved to 6-4 together during fall play. TJ Wells and Brian Chen also won by two games, remaining consistent to take down Matthew Coignet and Antoine Vicaire (Texas A&M-CC) 6-4.
Barnett won early in singles play, beating out Texas A&M-CC’s Nicolas Niox in straight sets by a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 margin. With today’s performance, the senior finishes the fall season with a 6-2 singles record to lead the team in singles winning percentage (.667) along with teammate Zach Fuchs.
Wells fell to Etienne Marty of Texas A&M-CC 6-1, 7-5 after keeping the score close in the second set. The freshman later squared off against Daniil Kakhniuk (New Mexico) and fell 6-4, 6-1. Chen suffered defeat 6-0, 6-4 to Antoine Vicaire, an opponent who was part of the same duo that Wells and Chen bested earlier in doubles play.
With fall individual play in the books, the Cougars now turn their attention toward preparation for the first dual match season as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The season will begin in January, with a detailed schedule to be announced at a later date.
Saturday Results
Doubles
-Owen/Barnett def. Avery Zavala/Etienne Marty 7-5 (Texas A&M-CC)
-Wells/Chen def. Matthew Coignet/Antoine Vicaire 6-4 (Texas A&M-CC)
Singles
-Barnett def. Nicolas Niox (Texas A&M-CC) 6-2, 6-3
-Owen def. Avery Zavala (Texas A&M-CC) 6-3, 6-4
-Etienne Marty (Texas A&M - CC) def. Wells 6-1, 7-5
-Daniil Kakhniuk (New Mexico) def. Wells 6-4, 6-1
-Antoine Vicaire (Texas A&M-CC) def. Chen 6-0, 6-4
Photo Credit - Air Force Athletics