Men's Tennis 2023 Fall Season Preview

The BYU men’s tennis program released its 2023 fall schedule and roster on Friday. The fall invitationals will feature BYU athletes competing individually in singles and doubles competitions in seven tournaments across five states.

Author Trevor Jones
Tennis Fall Schedule_WebTennis Fall Schedule_Social

PROVO, Utah - The BYU men’s tennis program released its 2023 fall schedule and roster on Friday. The fall invitationals will feature BYU athletes competing individually in singles and doubles competitions in seven tournaments across five states.

Fall 2023 BYU Men's Tennis Schedule
Date Tournament Host Location Time
Sep. 22-23 ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains Air Force USAFA Intercollegiate Outdoor Tennis Courts // Air Force Academy, Colorado TBA
Sep. 28-Oct. 2 ITA Mountain Regionals Air Force USAFA Intercollegiate Outdoor Tennis Courts // Air Force Academy, Colorado TBA
Oct. 2-8 ITA All-American Championships Tulsa Michael D. Case Tennis Center // Tulsa, Oklahoma TBA
Oct. 6-7 UCSB Classic UC Santa Barbara Arnhold Tennis Center // Santa Barbara, California TBA
Oct. 20-21 General Patton Fall Invitational Boise State Appleton Tennis Center // Boise, Idaho TBA
Nov. 1-5 ITA National Fall Championships ITA Barnes Tennis Center // San Diego, California TBA
Nov. 3-4 Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge SMU Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex // Dallas, Texas TBA

The program embarks on a new era in more ways than one in 2023-24. Entering its inaugural year in the Big 12 Conference, former Cal Women’s Associate Head Coach Zack Warren was named BYU’s seventh head men’s tennis coach on July 28 following Dave Porter’s retirement. Warren joins the program after having spent nine successful years at Cal.

Warren’s hiring marks a return to BYU. The first-time head coach served as an assistant on former Cougar head coach Brad Pearce’s staff from 2009-12 and as an athlete from 2004-07.

Seven players from last year’s team will return for the upcoming season. Jack Barnett and Wally Thayne ended dual match play last spring with All-Conference honors in singles and doubles. Together, they combined for five weekly honors from the West Coast Conference. Both aim to build upon their performances last fall where they earned spots at the invite-only ITA All-American Championships.

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With eight total roster members, five are now upperclassmen, including seniors Barnett and Thayne in addition to Brigham Andrus (junior), Zach Fuchs (senior) and Kobe Tran (junior).

Andrus overcame knee injuries to earn a team-high nine doubles wins in 2022-23 while Zach Fuchs finished the season with a team-high singles winning percentage. Redd Owen leads the underclassmen after 33 matches as a freshman, registering eight singles and nine doubles wins.

Incoming freshman TJ Wells is the lone roster newcomer this fall. Recently returned from a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bangkok, Thailand, Wells prepped at Lone Peak High in Highland, Utah. There, he became a four-star recruit and the No. 3-rated Utah prospect in the class of 2021 (Head).

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Tournaments

ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains

Hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy, the tournament draws players from all corners of the U.S. The competition features 64 single and 32 double entries and is sponsored by the Edward T. Bedford Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting children and young adults.

ITA Mountain Regional

All NCAA universities with tennis programs are divided into regions organized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The ITA regional championships serve as qualification for the ITA National Fall Championships, which crown a singles and doubles champion every November. BYU competes in the Mountain Region, which consists of 17 teams across eight states. This year’s Mountain Regional is hosted by Air Force.

ITA All-American Championships

Hosted by Tulsa, the qualifying draw will take place on October 2-3 with the main draw slated for October 4-8. Tulsa finished last season ranked No. 54 in the nation.

UC Santa Barbara Classic

2023 will mark BYU’s third consecutive year with athletes at the event. At the 2022 edition, Thayne and Fuchs each had undefeated days of competition. Thayne, Fuchs and Owen all competed in the invitational’s singles events. Tournament hosts UC Santa Barbara finished the 2022-23 season ranked No. 41 nationally.

General Patton Fall Invitational

Set to take place at Boise State’s Appleton Tennis Center, the facility has played host to several tournaments since its opening in 2002, including NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship rounds. 2023 marks the first year BYU athletes will compete at the fall individual tournament. Boise State placed No. 60 in the national rankings last year.

Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge

After a nearly ten-year absence from competing in Texas during fall play, BYU will send athletes to the Lone Star State for the second-straight fall season after performing in the Rice Fall Challenge last year. BYU’s last outing at SMU came in a 2018 4-1 team victory. SMU began hosting the individual tournament in 2019.

ITA National Fall Championships

The Cougars aim to qualify individuals for the grand finale to the fall collegiate tennis season. The tournament features 64 of the nation’s top collegiate singles players (32 men) and 32 doubles teams. The event is in its fifth year and will take place in San Diego, California.

More information about each invitational, including draws, start times and media coverage, will be announced as it is made available. The BYU men’s tennis social media channels and website will have all of the up-to-date information plus previews and recaps for each event.