PROVO -- In what is sure to be an exciting weekend of tennis, the No. 45 BYU men’s tennis team will face the University of San Francisco and regional rival No. 29 Boise State. The Cougars take on the Dons Friday evening and the Broncos Saturday evening.
“There’s no magic formula,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said. “We’re simply sticking with the routines we’ve adopted in preparation for our matches so far this season.”
Despite their first loss of the season last week against No. 24 Arizona, the Cougars recovered with a 5-2 win over South Alabama. BYU continues to move up in the rankings, coming in at the No. 45 spot this week. The ranking is the highest for the program since 2001.
BYU has defeated San Francisco in the two previous meetings between these teams. The last contest resulted in a 5-2 Cougar win in the 2006-2007 season. The Dons are currently 4-3 on the season and overcame UC Davis in their last match.
“San Francisco is a quality team and a good program,” Pearce said. “And Boise State is a big regional rivalry. It is a good team that is well-coached.”
Boise State will take on another local rival, No. 70 Utah, Friday before heading to Provo. The Broncos are 3-3 on the season and lost to then-No. 8 Stanford last week. BYU leads the all-time record 16-13 but has not beaten BSU since 2002. The Cougars suffered a close 4-3 loss in Boise, Idaho last season. Players from both squads competed in various tournaments throughout the fall including the Utah Fall Tennis Classic, the Boise State Classic, the Utah Intercollegiate Tournament and the ITA Mountain Region Championship.
“We feel confident going into the matches,” Pearce said. “But we know that we have to play with great heart and intensity and really go after it to come away with two victories this weekend.”
Both matches begin at 5: 30 p.m. at the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts. Admission is free and the courts are located south of the Smith Fieldhouse. The team will provide pizza and prizes to fans. All BYU “Y Lot” parking lots are open to the public after 4 p.m. Friday and all day Saturday.