PROVO -- BYU's Erik Nyman advanced as far as the men's singles consolation semifinal round of the ITA All-American Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn. Saturday before returning home.

Nyman was defeated by Pedro Rico of Pepperdine in the semifinal match in a hard fought three-set match 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Rico later fell to men's singles consolation winner Conor Niland of California 7-5, 6-3.

All in all, BYU men's head coach Brad Pearce is extremely pleased with the effort and overall performance of senior Nyman.

"Erik's leadership is just so valuable to this young team," Pearce said. "He played so well and almost went all the way. What a great competitor."

Coach Pearce and Nyman returned to Provo Saturday following Nyman's loss in the semifinal round. Had Nyman won the semifinal match, he would have deferred play in the final match Sunday afternoon to comply with BYU's standing policy of not playing on Sunday.

Updated rankings resulting from the ITA All-American Championship will be announced soon.

The BYU men's tennis team will take a week off to prepare for competition in the ITA/Omni Hotel Regional Championships in Las Vegas Oct. 22-26.

MEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING 
Round of 64
Erik Nyman (BYU) def Dave Hippee (Wisc.) 		           6-0, 6-2
Round of 32 
Erik Nyman (BYU) def Zoltan Csanadi (Old Dom)	       	3-6, 6-2, 6-1
MEN'S SINGLES MAIN DRAW
Michael Kogan (Tulane) def Erik Nyman (BYU) 	        	6-3, 2-6, 6-1
MEN'S SINGLES MAIN DRAW CONSOLATION
1st Round
Erik Nyman (BYU) def Chris Martin (Ill.) 		          	6-3, 6-7, 6-0
Quarterfinal
Erik Nyman (BYU) def Andreas Laulund (VT)	           	6-1, 6-0
Semifinal
Pedro Rico (Pepperdine) def Erik Nyman (BYU) 	       	3-6, 7-5, 6-4 
MEN'S SINGLES PRE-QUALIFYING 
Round of 256
Alex Anselme (UCSB) def Christian Hand (BYU) 		       0-6, 6-4, 6-5
Nathan Price (Ark) def Nima Roshan (BYU)  		          6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Richard Dasek (BYU) def John Hoyes (Miami) 		         3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Jose Lechuga (BYU) def Clayton Langheim (Troy St)    	6-2, 6-0
Jens Larsen (Vanderbilt) def Michael Sperry (BYU)    	6-2, 6-2
Alonzo Medina (BYU) def Tommy Garrison (OU)		         6-4, 6-4
Allen Simmons (Furman) def Tim Bradshaw (BYU)		       6-2, 6-1
Round of 128
Fredrik Aarum (Miss) def Richard Dasek (BYU) 	       	6-2, 6-3
Jose Lechuga (BYU) def West Nott (Ga. Tech) 		        4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Alonzo Medina (BYU) def Jarrad Bunt (Ark LR) 	       	2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Round of 64
Carl Hagman (Ariz) def Jose Lechuga (BYU) 		          4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Viad Obradovic (Fla.) def Alonzo Medina (BYU)	       	6-2, 6-1
MEN'S DOUBLES PRE-QUALIFYING
Round of 128
Bradshaw/Hand (BYU) def Lerch Panzeri (Tenn. Tech)   	8-5
Lechuga/Roshan (BYU) def Newmark/Weaver (Butler)     	8-6
Hangstefer/Knizat (Tenn-Chatt) def Medina/Sperry (BYU)8-4
Dasek/NymanBYU) -- Bye
Round of 64
Gaston/Skupski (LSU) def Bradshaw/Hand (BYU)		        8-6
Brandi/Stiegwardt (Fla.) def Lechuga/Roshan (BYU)    	8-6
Dasek/Nyman (BYU) def Bryan/Nicholson (LSU) 	        	9-8
Round of 32
Allen/Schledorn (Mid. Tenn) def Dasek/Nyman (BYU)	    8-3

PROVO -- As the BYU men's tennis team continues its six-tournament road trip, it will face some of its toughest competition of the season in the ITA All American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Head Coach Brad Pearce is optimistic about this week's tournament even though it adds to the amount of play away from home the Cougars will see this season.

"It will be a long tournament," Pearce said. "As I've reminisced over the last four years, we've been on the road a lot, but the players seem to be in the competitive spirit early. It should be a great experience."

Coach Pearce hopes to turn some heads in this tournament by playing well. BYU has a school-wide policy that they will not play on Sunday. As this tournament runs through two Sundays, Coach Pearce hopes BYU has enough players go far enough that the officials will adjust the play so the BYU players are able to continue competing on Monday or Tuesday.

"It's an interesting tournament because these results have a huge bearing on the boys' rankings," Pearce said. "And we want them all to do well."

BYU's Erik Nyman has a preseason ranking of 99 in singles play. The ITA All American Championships will give Nyman and other players a chance to boost their rankings.

All eight players on the Cougar team will travel to Tennessee for the tournament. The team will leave Wednesday Oct. 1 and hope to return to Provo on Oct. 12, once the final matches are played.

"This will be a great experience for the team," Pearce said. "Especially the incoming freshmen. It will give them a chance to see how tough college competition really is."