By Michael Barzee
Back from summer break, the BYU tennis team is gearing up for this week?s first event of the fall season- the Iman?s Court Open.
?This is a time where we can improve and get ready for January,? senior Jose Lechuga said.
Iman Arafet, the sponsor of the open, owns the only tennis shop in Utah County, called Iman?s Court. In addition to owning the tennis shop, he also coaches two high school teams. Recently, the coaches at BYU mentioned to Arafet, who is a big supporter of BYU tennis, about bringing back an event that is open to the public. Arafet told BYU that he would sponsor the event if BYU would host it.
The tournament is a 64-player draw style bracket. In this type of bracket, a player?s seed is determined by drawing a random number that designates which seed he is. The tournament doesn?t have 64 players, so some players will be given a bye in the first round.
Each participant is required to pay an entry fee ? $30 for singles and $20 for doubles. Since the tournament is open to non-college athletes, those college athletes participating must pay the entry fee themselves. This fee, Arafet said, is used for equipment, officials, and prizes for the event, not for a profit.
The Open has players coming from Montana State, Colorado, Utah State, Weber State and various junior colleges. Even BYU tennis head coach Brad Pearce will play doubles.
Pearce said this tournament is important to his program and to the sport.
?One way to build interest not only in your program but also to raise interest in your program sport is to get back to the days when it was the Provo Open which was an open event for any open type players,? he said.
If the tournament is successful, organizers hope to continue the event in years to come and even get local professional players to participate.
In tennis, the fall season is made up of individual events where players don?t play as a team but are individually invited to the tournaments to compete. The winter season is where regular dual-match play starts and ends with the NCAA tournament in May.
The Iman?s Court Open starts today and runs through Saturday and is open to the public. Today the events start at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. All of the events will be held at the BYU outdoor tennis courts.
BYU tennis player Dominik Kaufhold has high expectations for the open.
?I want to win it,? Kaufhold said.
