PROVO, Utah – Freshman Brian Chen enjoyed his first year on the team, with his adjustment to college made more challenging after moving to Utah from Taiwan. Learn more about Chen, including how he discovered tennis and BYU, along with how he grew more comfortable at BYU.
Finding Tennis
Chen started playing tennis when he was eight years old. He won a 100-meter dash contest at school, which resulted in an invitation to a tennis camp. While no one else in his family played sports, Chen decided to stick with tennis because he liked being on the courts and found the sport fun.
He almost stopped playing competitive tennis when he was 14, but decided to keep going in hopes of having a chance to play collegiately in the U.S. At that time Chen was the top-ranked player in Taiwan for his age group.
Finding BYU
Chen’s high school coach, Wei-Yu Su, played tennis at BYU-Hawaii under now-BYU head coach Dave Porter from 1995-99. As a result, Su helped Chen learn about BYU, with Chen eventually choosing to attend the university. He joined the team as part of the class of 2022.
“I knew that BYU had a great tennis team and academic programs,” Chen said of his decision to come to Provo. “BYU also has amazing coaches and teammates that I was excited to play with.
“I love the culture here at BYU,” he adds of his first year. “Everybody on campus is respectful to each other no matter what.”
A New Environment
Chen enrolled at BYU in the summer of 2022, with the hopes of taking time to adjust to college and living in the U.S. ahead of the tennis season starting in the fall. He says those summer months were difficult, as most of the team had gone home for the summer. However, Chen explains he grew much more comfortable at BYU once his teammates arrived in August.
“Those two months were pretty hard for me, but after I met my teammates they helped me a lot,” he says. “Being with them is the best part of being here at BYU. They are the main reason why I can enjoy college. They are also willing to help me grow not only as a tennis player, but also as a person. I feel like we are a family.”
Crazy B
Often quiet and reserved, the team loves to refer to Chen as “Crazy B.” The nickname was bestowed by teammate Jack Barnett at the ITA Mountain Regional Championship in October. As Chen grew more comfortable during his matches, he eventually started yelling and celebrating after points, resulting in the nickname.