Cougars close out difficult season

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s tennis finished a tough 2014-2015 season with a 10-18 overall record and a 3-6 mark in West Coast Conference play after making it to the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament.

The Cougars entered the season with seven returning players and a lot of optimism. After an up-and-down out-of-conference schedule, BYU won its first three conference matches. The Cougars looked to remain one of the top teams in a tough WCC but injuries and inconsistency proved to be too much to overcome as they dropped their final six matches.

Francis Sargeant, the lone senior and captain on this year’s BYU squad, moved into sixth on the BYU all-time singles victories list with 91 career wins in singles play. Sargeant battled injuries to begin the season but delivered one of the biggest victories of season when he beat No. 37 Or Ram-Harel in a loss to No. 20 Tulsa.

Freshman Shane Monroe also proved to be a bright spot for the Cougars. The newcomer made his presence felt early in the fall tournament season by reaching the finals in the BYU Tournament then by winning the singles championship at the Utah Invitational in Salt Lake City. Monroe went on to win his first eight singles matches when the season began in January. Monroe finished with the most victories for BYU, going 16-10 on the year.

The Cougars will return most of their lineup next season, only losing Sargeant to graduation and David Ball and Victor Brown to missions. John Pearce and Keaton Cullimore will both return to BYU’s squad next season after missions of their own.