Aggie men’s tennis ends season with best-ever home record
The Utah State men’s tennis team rebounded from a disappointing loss to beat the Air Force Academy Falcons Thursday afternoon. The 5-2 win marks a perfect season at home for the Aggies as they remained undefeated in Logan.
“The team effort was good,” said USU assistant coach Fernando Gallegos. “I was pretty happy that we got a win in our last home match of the season.”
Thursday’s meet started off with doubles action and the Aggies wasted no time sweeping the Falcons.
USU’s duo of Bryan Marchant and Sven Poslusny continued an impressive season with an 8-3 win over Air Force’s Steven Young and Lance Wilhelm.
Fredrick Peterson and Alex Thatcher picked up an 8-7 win for USU in the second doubles position after a hard fought match against the Falcon’s Andy Jackson and Alex Grubbs. The two teams battled back and forth before Peterson and Thatcher pulled ahead for the victory.
Jakob Asplund and Nikita Ryashchenko also picked up a win for the Aggies with a score of 8-4.
The Aggies carried their momentum from a strong doubles showing into the singles competition. They defeated the Falcons 4-2 to come away with a victory on the afternoon.
Action kicked off with Poslusny in the number one spot facing off against Wilhelm. Poslusny defeated Wilhelm quickly in the first set but struggled in the second before pulling away for a win.
Thursday’s match was Marchant and Asplund’s final home match as Aggies and the seniors did not disappoint.
Asplund faced off against Air Force’s Jackson. Asplund got down early in the first set but came back strong from a 3-0 deficit to win the set 6-3. He came out strong in the second set and held on for a victory.
The Aggies’ Marchant also came out strong in singles action with a straight-set win over Grubbs. Marchant posted scores of 6-3 and 6-2 to help the Aggies to a win.
In the sixth position, Ryashchenko battled with the Falcons Alex Beaussart in his singles match, but ultimately beat Beaussart in three sets. Ryashchenko got up early in the first set but was beaten by Beaussart in the second set to force a third tie-breaker.
The third set was a battle on both sides, but Ryashchenko ultimately came out on top with the win.
“They are a tough team, very disciplined on the court, but I think we showed a lot of experience today,” said Gallegos.
The Aggies will be on the road for the rest of the season. They take the court next on April 21 against Weber State in Ogden.
–meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu