PROVO, Utah - BYU men’s tennis fell 4-2 to No. 17 Oklahoma at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts Saturday afternoon as the Cougars earned points from Zach Fuchs and Tygen Goldammer at No. 3 and No. 5 singles.
“I was extremely proud of how we competed today,” said BYU assistant coach Jonathan Sanchez. “We keep getting better every time we step on the court and it’s just a matter of time before it all comes together. We’re putting ourselves in positions to win on every court with some of the best players and teams in the country, which is so positive early on in the Big 12 segment of our season. We will continue to grow and learn from days like today and be ready for our matches next week.”
Saturday saw several tight matches, ending with Jack Barnett dropping a narrow three-set battle to 20th-ranked Alex Martinez. The match marked the second time in three days that BYU (11-5, 0-2 Big 12) had faced a top-25 opponent. Oklahoma improves to 14-2 and 2-0 in Big 12 play on the season.
Doubles
1. Alex Martinez/Baptiste Anselmo (OK) def. Zach Fuchs/Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-4
2. Jack Barnett/Redd Owen (BYU) vs. Mark Mandlik/Jordan Hasson (OK) 5-6, unfinished
3. Hank Trondson/Asahi Harazaki (OK) def. Tygen Goldammer/TJ Wells (BYU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1
Oklahoma first secured a win over TJ Wells and Goldammer. Knotted at 1-1, the freshmen duo won every point in the game to register a break. The Sooners bounced back with a break of their own before going on to win 6-3.
Fuchs and Wally Thayne jumped out to a 3-2 lead after holding serve despite being down 0-40. Fuchs’ approach shot skipped over the net as Martinez’s return fell short to win the game. Oklahoma then went up 5-3 before the Cougars held serve and later fell 6-4.
Court two went unfinished with Jack Barnett and Redd Owen trailing 5-6. Early on, Owen rocketed a baseline shot between two Sooners at the net to score an early break and go up 2-0. Later tied at 4-4, Barnett held serve to go up 5-4. The game included a point where Barnett chased the ball for a high lob that Owen later finished at the net.
Singles
1. No. 20 Alex Martinez (OK) def. Jack Barnett (BYU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
2. No. 107 Kholo Montsi (OK) def. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Zach Fuchs (BYU) def. Jordan Hasson (OK) 7-5, 6-1
4. Luis Alvarez (OK) def. Redd Owen (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Tygen Goldammer (BYU) def. Justin Schlageter (OK) 1-6, 6-0, 7-5
6. David Duong (BYU) vs. Mark Mandlik (OK) 7-5, 6-7 (6), 2-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 5, 1
Fuchs evened the dual match score at 1-1 with a straight sets win on court three. The junior held serve to take a 6-5 opening set lead. The next game saw him earn a break on deuce-point to win 7-5. He rode the momentum, securing a pair of breaks to claim a 5-1 advantage in set two. Fuchs then forced three-straight errors from Oklahoma’s Hasson to win 7-5, 6-1.
“We had a little bit of a slow start in doubles, but did a great job of rebounding going into singles and played with the best confidence I’ve seen thus far from the team,” Sanchez said.
The Sooners won the next point on court two in a tough 4-6, 4-6 loss by Thayne. He went up 3-2 in set one before a break gave Oklahoma momentum. Despite holding a 4-3 second set lead, Montsi fought back to take the match.
Owen lost 6-2 in his first set before cutting a 1-4 set two deficit to 3-4. He dropped the next two games as the sophomore’s six-match singles win streak was snapped. Owen is now 12-3 on the year.
At No. 5 singles, Tygen Goldammer narrowed the dual match count to 2-3 with a three-set victory. The freshman displayed resilience, bouncing back from a 1-6 first set loss to dramatically flip the script in set two, winning 6-0. Set three proved closer, with Goldammer recording a break to tie things up at 4-4 before holding serve after his opponent hit the ball long, going on to win 7-5.
The clinching point came on court one as Barnett fell in three sets to No. 20 Alex Martinez. After Martinez won 6-3, the senior surged ahead in set two, winning 6-2. Trailing 3-4 in the third set, Barnett won with both at the net on a slicer to help secure a break. Martinez then got a break of his own and held serve to win 6-4.
Freshman David Duong’s match went unfinished in the third set. Duong seized a 7-5 first set win and led 3-1 in the next set before a break tightened the gap. Up 6-5 and serving for the match win, Oklahoma’s Mandlik forced a tiebreaker. Duong then narrowly fell 6-8 before leading 2-1 as the match went unfinished.
Up Next
BYU will host two more nationally-ranked Big 12 opponents next Thursday and Saturday, with No. 8 Texas set for Thursday, March 28 at 4 p.m. at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. Watch or follow along with live stats.