PROVO, Utah – The 2019-20 BYU men’s tennis team concluded the season before West Coast Conference play began, ending with an overall record of 6-7, going 4-0 at home.
The Cougars had a successful fall season as senior Sean Hill claimed his second title as Regional Singles Champion with sophomore Mateo Vereau Melendez as the runner-up at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships.
Hill and Melendez traveled to the ITA Fall National Championships to compete for the Mountain region, where Melendez took on the No. 11 seed in the round of 32 but fell short in two sets.
Hill also competed in the ITA All-American, where he advanced to the consolation quarterfinals after defeating No. 21 Adria Soriano Barrera of the University of Miami in two sets.
Because the University and NCAA canceled the rest of the season due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the Cougars were unable to compete in the conference race. Before the dual-match season began, the Cougars were projected to finish No. 3 in the WCC while Hill was named to the 2020 All-WCC Preseason Men’s Tennis Team.
Before the season came to a close, the Cougars grabbed two WCC weekly honors out of the seven weeks the WCC awarded them.
Seniors David Ball and Hill claimed the first WCC Doubles Team of the Week accolade after going 2-0 at BYU’s home opener and the first doubleheader of the season. Freshman Jack Barnett was named the WCC Singles Player of the Week when he took down senior, Ignatius Castelino, from the University of Denver in just two sets, earning the lone point for the Cougars in that dual-match.
BYU started the dual season with a tough lineup facing No. 11 UCLA and two other top 50 teams. Despite falling short in those matchups, as the season progressed, the Cougars defeated three in-state rivals; the University of Utah, Utah State and Weber State. BYU also picked up wins over George Washington University, East Tennessee State and Idaho State.
At home, BYU went 4-0, extending its winning streak to 22 straight matches.
Hill led the team with 18 singles wins for the season and Sam Tullis trailed with 12 singles wins. New team members freshman Barnett and junior Matheus Ferreira Leite followed with 11 singles wins apiece.
Tullis and Ben Gajardo led BYU’s doubles teams with 11 wins, while Cougar pair Ball and Hill followed with six wins, going 6-0 at the No. 3 spot.
Hill ended his BYU career at No. 2 all-time in singles winning percentage. He posted a 64-21 record with a .750 winning percentage.
With three players graduating, Ball, Hill and Tullis, the Cougars look to improve next year as they return the majority of their lineup and bring on two 5-star recruits.