BYU men’s and women’s tennis teams will face stiff competition when they join the West Coast Conference next year.
“I think it’s a great thing,” senior Evan Urbina said. “I’m excited for our school.”
The main challenge on the men’s side will come from Pepperdine, the tennis powerhouse of the WCC.
“In the last five years, they have been ranked in the top 10, top 15,” BYU men’s coach Brad Pearce said.
Pepperdine ended last season ranked 21st in the nation and won its 41st WCC title in school history. They lost in the second round of the NCAA Championships to No. 8 Stanford, but won the tournament in 2006.
The men will also face challenges from Santa Clara and San Diego, who were both nationally ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Santa Clara was ranked second behind Pepperdine in the WCC and finished the season ranked 53rd nationally with a record of 18-7. San Diego also had a strong season and finished ranked 61st.
Looking at the rankings alone, the BYU men’s team, ranked 36th last year, figures to sandwich between Pepperdine and Santa Clara within the conference. The Cougars had a solid season, making their first appearance in the NCAA Championships since 2001. However, this conference will bring a new test to the team.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Pearce said.
On the women’s side, it was the year of the underdog in the WCC, as Saint Mary’s upset Pepperdine to win the first WCC title in the program’s history last season. Saint Mary’s was the strongest team in the conference last season with freshmen and sophomore players rising to the top.
By being in the WCC final, Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, where both lost in the first round. Saint Mary’s ended the season ranked 39th and Pepperdine 43rd.
The BYU women’s team is trying to move forward this season after losing top player McCall Jones. They finished last season in fourth place in the Mountain West Conference, and had a record of 5-3 in the Mountain Region.
With last season behind them, Cougar tennis and coach Pearce are ready for the “new schools and new faces” that wait in the WCC.
