Jon McBride | Posted: 8 Dec 2020 | Updated: 30 Jan 2021

Legendary Tennis Coach Wayne Pearce Passes Away at age 84

main image
Image
Wayne Pearce Graphic

 

PROVO, Utah — Legendary BYU men’s tennis coach Wayne Pearce passed away Sunday night in Provo. Born May 12, 1936 in Salt Lake City, Pearce was 84 years old.

Pearce coached the BYU men’s tennis team from 1964-1979, amassing 203 wins and 73 losses. His .736 winning percentage is the best in program history. Five of his teams finished in the top 10 in the country. They also won or shared six conference titles.

Pearce took his teams to Europe three times to face international competition. They came home with a record of 21 wins and only four losses.

As an undergraduate at the University of Utah, Wayne was the number one singles player for three years. Wayne continued his association with BYU as a teacher in the Marriott School of Management.

 

Wayne-Pearce and Ernest-Hartvigsen with tennis rackets at the indoor tennis courts

Instrumental in the construction of the Indoor Tennis Courts Building were Dr. Milton F. Hartvigsen, dean of the College of Physical Education, left and tennis coach Wayne Pearce.

 

Recent Stories

Image
Brigham Andrus before a serve
Cougars grab a pair of doubles wins in loss to No. 40 Texas Tech

Friday night’s neutral match in Oregon between BYU men’s tennis and No. 40 Texas Tech went the way of the Red Raiders,…

Image
Graphic announcing BYU's match on Friday versus Texas Tech
Cougars to battle two more ranked foes in Oregon

The University of Oregon will be the site for BYU men’s tennis’ two matches this weekend. The Cougars will have a…