Tennis: Poslusny wins Invitational
Utah State men’s tennis star Sven Poslusny won the Weber State Invitational on Saturday in Ogden, Utah.
Poslusny captured his first career collegiate singles title in the first tournament of the year by defeating Todd Fought of Weber State (6-1, 4-6, 6-4) in three hard-fought sets.
“In the final I started off real well,” Poslusny said. “I was sort of struggling the second set but I fought through it and the third set I was just mentally tough.”
Poslusny reached the finals of the tournament in 2011 only to place second. He credited his preparation as a key to finally breaking through in a championship setting.
“I think I was really prepared for the tournament,” he said. “I just wanted to play my game and it worked out really well.”
Head coach Christian Wright also acknowledged the offseason work of his top player.
“Sven came in strong to start the season and had a really good summer,” Wright said. “I was proud of him and the way he represented our team.”
The Weber State Invitational included teams from Utah State, Idaho State and Weber State. Wright said there were players USU had never faced and was especially pleased with the stamina and mentality of Poslusny that allowed him to pull through in the third set.
Poslusny defeated sophomore teammate Matt Sweet (6-2, 6-2) in the quarterfinals and Weber State’s Oliver Good (6-1, 6-4) in the semifinals to reach the championship.
“I played pretty good the first two rounds,” Poslusny said. “I didn’t want any surprises.”
Poslusny said he had previously won a few doubles titles and placed second in singles multiple times, but had yet to win. With his first career title in this year’s opening tournament, Poslusny has put himself in a strong position going forward into the individual events this fall.
“It’s really nice to start off the year with a win going into the fall tournaments, so I’m ready for the other tournaments,” he said. “I’m excited.”
Poslusny will now head to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Pre-Qualifying Tournament this weekend, hoping to make it to the ITA Men’s All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 4-7. He will resume play with the team Oct. 11-13 at the University of Utah Invitational in Salt Lake City, Utah.
–m.hop@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter:@legendarymhops