Men's Tennis 2018-19 Season Review

PROVO, Utah – The 2018-19 BYU men’s tennis team concluded the season with an overall record of 17-6 and 6-3 in West Coast Conference play, finishing third behind San Diego and Gonzaga.

BYU entered the national polls at No. 27 on February 20, and the team remained in the top 50 for the remainder of the season, finishing at No. 46 as announced on May 22. The Cougars received their highest national ranking in 34 years when they came in at No. 22 on March 5, during the weekly ITA Rankings. 

In the WCC race, BYU finished third and entered the 2019 WCC Championships as the No. 3 seed. The Cougars lost to Santa Clara in the opening round.

BYU opened the season by defeating two in-state rivals, Weber State and the University of Utah.  After falling to No. 1 Wake Forest at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, the Cougars went on an 11-match win streak that ended in a loss to WCC foe Gonzaga.

Several players received All-WCC honors and All-Academic awards.

Senior Matthew Pearce completed his senior season with a 12-6 singles record and a 15-6 doubles mark. He made his third appearance on the WCC All-Academic team and received the Kimball Award for Highest Male Athlete GPA at the 2019 Y-Awards. Because of his academic accomplishments, Pearce was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team. Pearce clinched the 4-3 match win over No. 24 San Diego with his win at No. 6 singles, making the Cougars the only WCC team to defeat the Toreros. He finished his BYU career with a singles record of 51-44 and a 50-34 doubles record.

Beginning the season 13-0, Pearce and freshman Mateo Vereau Melendez made their mark at the No. 3 doubles position. The Cougar pair finished the year 15-4 and their near perfect 7-1 WCC record helped the pair earn two WCC Doubles Team of the Week honors.

After recording a 4-2 singles record in the WCC, senior Jeffrey Hsu was named to the All-WCC Second Team Singles. As the only Cougar to be named WCC Singles Player of the Week, Hsu earned two of these honors after victories against Saint Mary’s and Boise State. He finished his BYU career with a singles record of 30-28 and a 44-17 doubles record.

Junior Sean Hill led the Cougars in singles victories with 26 this season. Hill was named to the All-WCC First Team Singles by posting a 7-1 singles record in the WCC. With a season record of 26-7, Hill earned a national ranking as high as No. 90 during the season and finished the year at No. 101. Hill was named ITA Player to Watch in the Mountain Region after a successful junior season.

Hill and Hsu were named to the All-WCC First Team Doubles after their successful conference record of 5-2 in the No. 1 slot. Their overall 22-8 record contributed to their highest national ranking of No. 18 and end-year ranking of No. 55. The Cougar pair earned two WCC Doubles Team of the Week honors.

Junior Sam Tullis and sophomore Ben Gajardo posted an undefeated dual-match season record of 17-0 in the No. 2 slot, which landed them a spot on the All-WCC Second Team Doubles. Their undefeated 6-0 record in the WCC aided the BYU-duo in receiving a WCC Doubles Team of the Week accolade. With a dual-season record of 17-0, Tullis and Gajardo finished the year ranked No. 84.

Vereau finished his freshman campaign with a 13-14 record in singles play and went 15-7 in doubles. Playing in the No. 5 singles position, sophomore Gajardo contributed a 12-11 record for the season while receiving WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention honors.

Juniors Tullis and David Ball contributed significantly throughout the season and led the team as Co-captains, along with Pearce. Tullis tallied an 18-12 record in singles and was named to the WCC All-Academic team. Ball ended the season with a 3-5 singles record.

With only Pearce and Hsu graduating, BYU looks to build on this year’s success heading into next season as it returns the majority of the team.

2018-19 Awards

Matthew Pearce, Senior

• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Mateo Vereau Melendez (Feb. 5)
• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Mateo Vereau Melendez (Mar. 12)
• Kimball Memorial Award (Highest GPA)
• WCC All-Academic Team
• Google Cloud Academic All-District Team

Jeffrey Hsu, Senior

• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Sean Hill (Feb. 12)
• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Sean Hill (Feb. 26)
• WCC Singles Player of the Week (Mar. 12)
• WCC Singles Player of the Week (Mar. 19)
• All-WCC First Team Doubles
• All-WCC Second Team Singles

Sean Hill, Junior

• All-WCC Preseason Team
• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Jeffrey Hsu (Feb. 12)
• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Jeffrey Hsu (Feb. 26)
• All-WCC First Team Singles
• All-WCC First Team Doubles
• ITA Player to Watch, Mountain Region

Sam Tullis, Junior

• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Ben Gajardo (April 2)
• WCC All-Academic Team
• All-WCC Second Team Doubles

Ben Gajardo, Sophomore

• WCC Doubles Team of the Week with teammate Sam Tullis (April 2)
• WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention
• All-WCC Second Team Doubles