Tennis loses the first match of year at BYU
The Utah State men’s tennis team hung tough against in-state rival Brigham Young University but lost 5-2 in the end to the No. 68-ranked Cougars Friday in Provo.
It was the first match of the season for both teams, who haven’t seen any on-court action since the preseason ended in October. After the long holiday break, head coach Christian Wright pointed out rust accumulation was inevitable.
“We played with aggression across the board, so I was proud of our team for that,” Wright said. “But (BYU) just came up with some big shots when they needed them, and we missed some big shots when we needed them.”
In the end, it was only a matter of those few shots that made the difference in deciding several of the matches’ outcomes. Senior Jonas Tyden battled it out with BYU’s Cassidy Mears, winning the first set in a tiebreaker but eventually falling 7-6, 0-6, 5-7. In doubles, junior Mike Banks and sophomore Matt Searle lost a nail-biting pro set in a tiebreaker, 8-9. And despite what the match looks like on paper, senior Fernando Gallegos gave BYU’s Evan Urbina a run for his money before losing 1-6, 1-6.
USU freshman Jakob Asplund, who had a strong showing during the preseason tournaments last fall, played at the No. 1 spot against Thomas Schubert. The rookie netter from Sweden looked less like a greenhorn and more like a veteran as he duked it out with one of the best players in the state. Asplund lost the first set, 2-6, but bounced back in the second, winning 6-4. Schubert escaped an Asplund rally in the third set, pulling out a 6-3 victory.
“I was very pleased with (Asplund’s) performance. He did a phenomenal job,” Wright said.
Sophomore Oscar Ericsson notched the only singles win for the Aggies at the No. 2 spot, defeating Jonathan Sanchez 7-6, 3-2 (ret.). Fellow sophomore Matt Searle stepped in for the injured Alex Thatcher at the No. 6 spot. Searle, in the first collegiate start of his career, played tough before losing to BYU’s Tom Young 1-6, 0-6.
Thatcher is out with a stressed fracture in his right leg but is expected to return to practice in a few weeks.
In doubles action, the Aggies dominated the Cougars. Asplund and Tyden teamed up to beat Mears and Sanchez at the No. 1 spot, while Ericsson and Gallegos beat Urbina and Daniel Hwang at No. 2.
A team must win two out of the three doubles matches to get one point. Each singles match is worth one point.
While in the end Wright was disappointed, it wasn’t with his team’s performance.
“It was disappointing to play that close and lose, but I wasn’t disappointed with what we did out there,” Wright said. “Our team’s effort was phenomenal. We’re only going to get better and better.”
The Aggies will be on the road this week as they face Boise State in Boise on Thursday for the first match of a two-day tournament.
jackson.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu