Aggie men’s tennis squeaks past Weber State
OGDEN – As of Tuesday, Utah State men’s tennis player Jason Trask had never been in the position of having his singles match be the decisive one in team competition.
That all changed Wednesday in, but it did not bother the junior from St. George as Trask won a three-set marathon over Weber State’s Jonathan Engelbrecht, propelling the Aggies to a 4-3 victory over the Wildcats.
With the victory, the Aggies (6-10) went 2-1 against the Wildcats this season to take the season series for the third straight year, but not without putting a scare into USU Head Coach Chris Wright.
“I wish I could tell you that I was cool and calm the whole time, but I lost a few years of my life out there today,” he said. “It was a good win for us.”
A win that came anything but easy against what Wright called a hungry Weber State (2-8) squad.
“Weber played really well on their home court, and they really fought hard,” he said. “They put us to the limit. They were pretty hungry today.”
Nevertheless, the Aggies won two of the three doubles matches to win the doubles point, and two of the first three singles matches to take a 3-1 lead.
Down 3-1, WSU’s Don Williams squeaked by Hannes Schenk, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 at the No. 1 singles slot, and Andrew Corlett outlasted Brandon Butler, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 4.
With the match all square at 3-3, a second straight Aggie victory came down to the racket of Trask. Trask was in good shape to take the drama out of the team competition, as he served for the match up 5-4 in the second set.
However, Engelbrecht would respond by winning the next three games to even the match at one set apiece. Soon after, the Wildcats had won the No. 1 and No. 4 matches, and Trask knew he had to rebound.
He did.
“[Losing the second set] was a shot in the gut,” he said. “It was tough to take, just because I knew if I could have served it out, I would have saved a whole lot of trouble.”
Known for his physical fitness, Trask said it made a big difference in the match – a match that was more than three hours long. This was especially the case when Engelbrecht began to cramp up in the third set.
“Being in shape definitely helped, especially in the heat,” he said. “This was the first time we’ve had hot weather starting to come out. It was good, even though I feel like crap right now.”
In addition to Trask, USU’s Jordan Butler and Jonah Nelson were also victorious in singles, as was Trask and Brandon at No. 2 doubles and Schenk and Ryan Bair at No. 3 doubles.
After struggling in doubles, Jordan rebounded in a big way, picking up the only lopsided win of the match as he trounced Zach Rideout, 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 5 singles spot.
“[Jordan] did a sound job moving out there,” Wright said. “He mixed things up well, and he used variety in his game. It was nice to get one that was a decisive victory.”
As for Nelson, he was able to turn things around in his No. 3 singles match with Kenny Lindley after dropping the first set. Court coverage was a big factor in Nelson’s 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory, Wright said.
“[Jonah] moved a lot better after the first set,” he said. “He’s an excellent athlete. You could basically throw him out there in any sort, and he’s going to contend.”
In the other singles match (No. 6), Aggie Andrew Marsh struggled to find his range against the heavy sidespin game of Daniel Abeaboeru, falling, 7-5, 6-0.
The Aggies will return to action Friday when they host Northern Arizona at 1 p.m. in the Sports Academy. USU will also be in action Saturday at home against Portland State at 1 p.m.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu