USU men’s tennis snaps TCU’s 31-match home winning streak

Photo credit: Jim Boyd.

The Utah State men’s tennis team snapped No. 12 TCU’s 31-match home winning streak this afternoon with a final score of 4-3.

With this win, the Aggies qualify for ITA National Team Indoors next month.

“The guys will remember this forever, and I’m so happy for them,” said USU head coach James Wilson .

The Aggies trailed after doubles play 1-0, counting on a strong singles performance to put them back on top.

In singles play, sophomore Jonas Maier grabbed the No. 6 spot victory over TCU’s Gianni Mancini. Then, at the No. 2 spot, senior Jack Swindells gave the Aggies at 2-1 lead with a victory over TCU’s Guillermo Nuñez. The match wasn’t over, though, and TCU rallied back with a pair of wins over juniors Kai Wehnelt and Jaime Barajas — the Aggies trailed 3-2. Then freshman Sergiu Bucu defeated TCU’s Reese Stalder at the No.4 spot to tie the match 3-3.

The fate of the match fell on USU sophomore Samuel Serrano against TCU’s Trey Daniel. Serrano, after dropping the first set, won the second and third set to guarantee the Aggies a spot at the ITA Team Indoor Championship.

“They deserve it,” Wilson said. “All the hard work they’ve put in from day one paid off today. I knew we would have a chance, and I tried to communicate that to the team. They obviously bought in and stuck together in the tough moments.”