Utah State remains undefeated
Utah State men’s tennis won three matches over the weekend to stay undefeated with a 6-0 record.
“It’s just a number,” said Clancy Shields, in his second season as the Aggies’ head coach. “For them it gives them a lot of confidence. We’re six wins in and only three weeks into the year. Last year we only had nine wins all season. We’re on the right track, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
The last match, which took place on Sunday, was against conference rival, No. 70 San Diego State. Freshman Jaime Barajas was the last to play and he clinched the match for Utah State by winning two straight tie-breaker sets 7-6, 7-6 after being down 5-2 in the first set.
“It’s unbelievable. My teammates helped me out,” Barajas said. “The atmosphere, to clinch against a ranked school, this was very big. I’m just happy for my team. It was very tough to come back, but I just kept grinding.”
Behind the efforts of a raucous home crown that received an official warning during the final match, Barajas responded well to the pressure of playing last. The Utah State players stormed the courts and threw him in the air after the final point was played out.
“I can’t even believe it,” said Baumgartner, a sophomore and one of the team captains. “It’s so unreal. We worked so hard for this, and it finally pays off. We’ve got the momentum, and we just keep rolling. I’m excited to see how far we can go.”
Utah State got down early in the match when it lost the doubles point. Hendrik Jebens and Freddy Gelbrich of San Diego State beat Dennis Baumgartner and Marcus Fritz in a tie break to secure the second SDSU doubles win and get the point.
The Aggies and the Aztecs battled for every point, and each match was close as the day continued. With three matches still in play the team score was tied at 2-2. USU’s Jack Swindells fell to Marko Goles-Babic. That left Utah State’s two remaining players, Sebastian Schneider and Barajas in must-win situations. Schneider won easily 6-2, 6-0 leaving the weight of the match, which was tied at three all, on the freshman, Barajas.
“We had a question the other day of who’s going to step up and be a leader,” Shields said. “Right now it’s a freshman. There’s no hierarchy on this team. Whoever wants to step up and lead, get out of his way and follow.”
Earlier in the day Karan Salwan defeated Milen Ianakiev in straight sets to tie up the match at one point for each team. Baumgartner also won his singles match over Freddy Gelbrich 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 after Gelbrich began cramping up during the second set.
“I think it sends a statement to the rest of the teams around the country and in our conference,” Shields said. “We are going to compete for every point, and we’re going to be competitors for our conference. Sometimes all it takes is one big win.”
On Saturday Utah State played host to a double header, first taking on in-state rival Weber State and second playing Colorado Mesa.
USU won all of the doubles matches against Weber State and then took three of the first four singles matches to clinch the team win. Because there was a second match for Utah State right after the two teams ended with the Aggies up 4-1 in order to conserve energy for the next match.
“We can do anything,” Baumgartner said. “We’ve beat all those good teams. Our goal is to win the conference this year, and I believe 100 percent that we can do it.”
While playing Colorado Mesa, Utah State didn’t lose a single set. The Aggies swept the match winning 7-0. The Aggies will next be playing Montana on Friday morning at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club.
“We had a couple of tough matches,” Barajas said. “We pulled it out and ended up pulling this one out too. It gives us a lot of confidence and momentum to keep fighting for every point.”
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor