BYU men's tennis announces recruiting class

PROVO, Utah--Top-rated recruits Shane Monroe, Victor Brown, Samuel Tullis and Matthew Pearce will join the Cougars in 2014 as announced by BYU men's tennis head coach Brad Pearce, Friday.

 

New signees Monroe, Brown and Tullis submitted their national letters of intent in the November early signing period and will join BYU in fall 2014. Newcomer Pearce opted to graduate from high school early and will join the team in January 2014.

 

"I'm absolutely thrilled with our 2014 class," coach Pearce said. "We have five-star and four-star recruits who have all had signature wins over some of the best players in the country."

 

Shane Monroe

Ventnor City, N.J.

Monroe, a five-star recruit, was ranked as high as No. 10 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network. In addition to being the top-ranked junior player in the USTA Middle States section, he was also the last American standing as he reached the Sweet 16 at the 2011 Under-16 Orange Bowl Junior World Championships. He was selected to be a practice partner with world No. 2 and winner of six Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic during the 2013 U.S. Open. The New Jersey native is the first player from the East Coast committed to play for the Cougars since the late 1980s. Monroe was also recruited by elite schools in the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12, including 16-time NCAA champion UCLA.

 

Victor Brown

Rancho Cucomonga, Calif.

Brown is also a five-star recruit and was ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation by the Tennis Recruiting Network. He was singles runner-up at the California Interscholastic Federation Individual State Championships to UCLA freshman and national No. 1 Gage Brymer. The Alta Loma High product also represented the USTA Southern California Section at the 2013 Under-18 USTA Team National Championships. Brown was recruited by strong programs in the ACC, Big 12, West Coast and also Notre Dame.

 

Samuel Tullis

Centerville, Utah

Tullis, a two-time 5A state singles champion, is a four-star recruit who was ranked as high as No. 67 in 2013 by the Tennis Recruiting Network. In addition to leading Viewmont High to the 2013 State Championship, Tullis also beat two players nationally ranked in the top 25 on his way to reaching the fourth round at the the USTA Under-18 National Hard Court Championships held in Kalamazoo, Mich. He was recruited by several schools in the Mountain West, Pac 12 and WCC.

 

Matthew Pearce

Provo, Utah

Pearce was rated as a four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network. He was a two-time state champion at Timpview High and has been one of the best players in the USTA Intermountain Section since he was 8 years old. Pearce is the second son of head coach Brad Pearce to commit to BYU. As an early commit, he follows in the footsteps of his brother John to play for the Cougars. John is currently serving a mission in Trujillo, Peru. 

 

The Cougars carry a 36-match unbeaten streak in ITA Mountain Region play over the past four seasons. In 2013, they went 21-7 en route to a third NCAA appearance in the past four years.

 

The 2014 season commences with the annual doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 11, when BYU hosts Utah State at 12 p.m. and Weber State at 5:30 p.m. MST, at the Indoor Tennis Courts.