It was a quick turnaround for BYU men's tennis (10–2), with its matchup against Air Force coming less than 24 hours after a 4-1 loss to No. 70 Denver.
BYU’s Adam Chodur would be the only winner for the Cougars going 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1 in his match.
Considering Denver snapped the Cougars' 9-1 record over their last ten matches, which was the best a BYU team has had since 2017-18, BYU found itself in a position it has rarely encountered this season: needing to bounce back from a loss.
But instead of letting the loss to Denver set back their season, the Cougars bounced back with a 5-2 win over the Falcons, with five of the six singles matches going to a third set, in which they won four. BYU would go 2-0 in doubles to get an early lead as well.
“It’s how we pick ourselves up after something like that,” said coach Jonathan Sanchez after BYU’s loss to Denver. “Everyone fought and competed very hard, which I think we were very proud of, but at the end of the day we still got to be able to play good tennis.”
One of the key differences for BYU across these two matchups was the return of Zach Fuchs, who had been out with an illness against Denver.
With Fuchs out, BYU found itself at a disadvantage. Typically, BYU pairs Fuchs with top singles player Wally Thayne to form its strongest doubles team. However, with Fuchs unavailable, BYU moved Hardy Owen and Alex Edmonston into the number-one spot, while Thayne partnered with David Duong, who typically doesn't play doubles, in the number-two spot.
BYU lost both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, falling behind 1-0 early against Denver. While a point from a doubles match or having Fuchs play a singles match could have shifted the momentum in BYU's favor, at the end of the day, the Cougars had to rely on the players who were healthy enough to compete.
“I think it affects us a little bit,” said coach Sanchez. “He obviously plays number one doubles with Wally [Thayne] who are a tremendous team and you know we count on them for a point typically… so having him gone is a factor, but at the end of the day I have confidence and I know Coach Zach has confidence in every one of our players to win at any position.”
However, against Air Force, Fuchs ended up being healthy enough to return for the Cougars and make an immediate impact for his team.
Not only did he play, but he delivered big for the Cougars, winning both the top doubles match with Thayne (6-4) and his singles match (6-3, 6-7 [4], 6-3), thanks in part to his tremendous serving game.
But it wasn’t just Fuchs' appearance that made the difference for BYU. Thayne’s performance against Air Force had a notablly different result than his match against Denver.
Known for his stellar net play, Thayne was unable to play his style against Denver’s Daniel Sancho Arbizu. On top of that, every time he tried to change things up in the first set — whether with a volley, forehand, or lob — Arbizu would respond with winning shots or force Thayne into unforced errors.
By the time the second set rolled around, Thayne showed more fight than in his 2-6 loss in the first set, but ultimately, he couldn't break Arbizu's serve and lost 4-6.
While his matchup against Air Force’s Phillip Deaton also saw him down a set early after losing 4-6, this time Thayne managed to break serve while down 4-5, going on to force a tiebreak, which he won 8-6.
After splitting sets with Deaton, Thayne took control in the third and won comfortably 6-2.
Unlike the 3-0 deficit against Denver, BYU found itself just one point away from securing a win against Air Force. However, with Chodur unable to prevail in a third-set tiebreaker and Tygen Goldammer losing 6-4, 6-4, BYU needed a win from either TJ Wells or Duong to seal the victory.
In the end, both Wells and Duong won their matches, with Wells finishing first in a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 battle, while Duong won 7-6(6), 4-6, (10-7) after his third set was replaced by a 10-point tiebreaker.
With both of their matches done, BYU had ended its day with a 5-2 win over Air Force and redeeming its loss the night before.
“We never want to lose, but sometimes a loss can kind of jump start you a little bit and get you remotivated again,” Sanchez said. “I think it's just gonna light a fire under us and hopefully we’ll be, you know, even hungrier tomorrow and the rest of the season.”
Well, the Cougars certainly played with fire against Air Force.
BYU has just one more nonconference game, traveling to face Loyola Marymount on March 7. Conference play will begin on March 13 with a road matchup against Oklahoma State.
The Cougars' next home game will be March 21, against No. 13 UCF