CHATTANOOGA -- BYU's Erik Nyman remains in the middle of the Icy Hot/ITA All-American tournament as he moves on to the consolation quarterfinal after defeating Andreas Laulund of Virginia Tech 6-1, 6-0 in round two earlier today.
Previously in the main draw, Nyman fell to sixth seeded Michael Kogan of Tulane, (6-3, 2-6, 6-1) who is still in the main draw, but later rose to defeat Chris Martin of Illinois (6-3, 6-7, 6-0) in the first round of the consolation.
In a Mountain West Conference match-up, Nyman will face Divan Coetzee of New Mexico Saturday at 9 a.m. CDT in the quarterfinal match. Should Nyman defeat Coetzee he will play again at 1 p.m. CDT in the semifinal of the consolation.
Because BYU athletics holds a policy to defer from any Sunday play, Nyman and coach Pearce will return home on Saturday evening after the semifinal match, even if Nyman qualifies for the final match.
BYU head coach Brad Pearce is pleased with the performance of his team over the last two weeks, despite the amount of time away from home. The Cougars competed for one week in California prior to attending the ITA All-American in Chattanooga.
As the lone Cougar still competing in tournament, Pearce said the leadership Nyman provides for the rest of the team is encouraging.
"With so many young players, I think they all look up to Erik," Pearce said. "They have called him everyday to see how he's doing and to congratulate him. He's a great leader."