PROVO -- The Brigham Young University tennis courts will play host to the men's Utah Fall Tennis Classic at BYU this weekend where players from BYU, Boise State, Montana State, Utah State and Weber State universities will be featured.
As an open tournament BYU tennis players are not compelled to play; but most - if not all - are expected to compete this weekend. The tournament will be the first time this season that Cougar tennis fans will be able to catch a glimpse of incoming freshmen Cassidy Mears, AJ Bartlett and Michael Eraso as well as transfer students Cale Planck, Albert Nersesyan and Daniel Ndela. Returning players Jonathan Sanchez, Chip Hand, Dominik Kaufhold, James Ludlow and Zack Warren are also expected to make strong showings this weekend.
Because it is an open event, the tournament will not be exclusive to college athletes and fans will get to see BYU men's head tennis coach Brad Pearce and assistant coach Dan Battistone participating in the event alongside - and possibly against - their own team. Coach Pearce was once ranked No. 71 in the world and hopes to prove to his players and fans that he can still compete.
Play starts on Thursday at 9 a.m. at the BYU outdoor tennis facilities and will go until 7p.m. Friday's schedule is the same with play from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. while Saturday's matches will start at 10 a.m. with the championship match slated for later that afternoon.
All matches are open to the public and admission to the tournament is free. The BYU outdoor tennis courts are located just south of the Smith Fieldhouse and the entrance is on the east side. Public parking is not available on Thursday or Friday in the BYU Y parking lots until 4 p.m., but all BYU lots are open to the public all day Saturday.