USU edges Weber State at home
The Utah State men’s tennis team took to the courts Wednesday to take on in-state rival Weber State University. USU rallied against the Wildcats to take the meet 4-3.
Assistant head coach Bryan Marchant said no matter what the situation is, Weber is always a tough opponent.
“Every year it’s a tough match, no matter the rankings,” Marchant said.
The doubles point came down to the wire as USU and Weber split No. 1 and No. 3 doubles.
Senior Nate Ballam and freshman Matt Sweet battled against WSU’s Peter Ramstromer-Pello and Caio Poitena. Sweet and Ballam came up with big points to hang on and take the match and capture the doubles point with a 9-7 win — giving USU the edge against WSU.
“The doubles point is so big, especially at home and in a rivalry,” Marchant said. “Especially when you just don’t know how singles is going to go.”
The battle continued as the Aggies tried to hold off the Wildcats during singles play.
Sven Poslusney fought hard against WSU’s Simon Unger, but the Wildcat’s angles kept Poslusney at bay. The junior lost the match in straight sets at the No. 1 singles position.
Freshman Marcus Fritz continued his success at No. 2 singles, dismissing his opponent in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. Fritz’s solid baseline game and patience kept Oliver Good out of the game, while Fritz took advantage to close out points.
In the No. 3 singles position, Sweet’s big serves and strong points kept the freshman on the offensive as he defeated David Hintze 6-0, 6-4.
“Sweet is a great player when he keeps the balance of a shot maker, and setting up points is when he plays his best tennis. He can pull the trigger and create winners,” Wright said.
USU hit a snag at the No. 4 singles position as Fredrick Peterson, who was in his second match back from illness, fought each point but could not come up with the win and fell to Ramstromer-Pello 3-6, 4-6.
Lenny Whiting took his opponent to the brink in each set in the No. 5 singles position but eventually fell to Weber State’s WSU’s Poitena 5-7, 6-7.
In the No. 6 singles, Ballam was put in a difficult position after clinching the doubles point with Sweet. Ballam was the deciding factor in singles play, as well, and nearly dropped the match.
After winning the first set 6-4, Ballam could not maintain the momentum and dropped the second in a tie breaker to WSU’s Ryan Garner. Ballam rebounded in the third set 7-5 to take the match.
“There were just a lot of ups and downs in that match,” Wright said. “Ballam put the pressure on, and he just fought hard.”
The win over in-state foe Weber State gave the Aggies a boost of confidence heading into a tough match against Boise State.
“It’s huge for our confidence to pull out a close match, especially heading into our match against the Broncos,” Marchant said. “Boise is a tough team, but they are beatable.”
The Aggies will host BSU at home March 1.
– mega.bodi@aggiemail.usu.edu