BYU to Play Host This Week

PROVO -- PROVO -- After taking last week off, the No. 65 men’s tennis team will return to Provo to host Idaho State Wednesday and a doubleheader against No. 48 Denver and Santa Clara Friday. The 4-2 Cougars have not played for three weeks because inclement weather canceled two matches scheduled for Feb. 6 and 7.

“We have a good opportunity to be 3-0 this week and that is our primary goal. In order to accomplish it, the guys need to come out and compete and play good, solid tennis,” BYU coach Brad Pearce said.

Idaho State has yet to win a match this season and is currently 0-6. Most recently, the Bengals fell 4-3 to Northern Colorado. BYU last faced ISU in the 2004-2005 season when the Cougars swept the match 7-0.

“We are fortunate to get the match against Idaho State in to get back into match mode and be ready for Friday,” Pearce said.

Santa Clara comes to Provo after having five of six matches postponed because of rain. The Broncos defeated UC Santa Cruz 6-1 Jan. 31 in their first and only match of the season so far. BYU beat Santa Clara 5-2 last year.

Denver is currently 5-4 on the season and coming off a 5-2 victory over Montana State last week. The Pioneers’ only ranked player is No. 83 David Simson. The junior currently owns a 6-3 record in the spring season. The two teams have traded wins over the past six seasons. Last year, Denver edged out the Cougars 4-3 in Colo. to improve their all-time record against BYU to 3-5.

Admission to the contests is free, and the team will provide supporters with pizza and prizes. The match against Idaho State starts at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Friday’s match against Santa Clara begins at noon followed by Denver at 6 p.m. All matches will be in the BYU Indoor Tennis Courts, located south of the Smith Fieldhouse. All BYU “Y Lot” parking lots are available to the public after 4 p.m.