The BYU men’s tennis team came to play at the BYU Invitational this weekend.
Freshman Shane Monroe made a strong showing and played into the championship match Saturday against former BYU No. 1 and ranked tour player Patrick Kawka.
Monroe won the first set after a long tiebreak that ended at 13-11. Kawka won the second set 6-1, and he was winning the second set 3-0 when Monroe retired early.
Monroe said that he retired to save energy for his doubles match later with teammate and fellow freshman David Ball, but that he was pleased with his play overall.
“I’m looking forward to the season ahead,” Monroe said. “I’m expecting to play real high on the team and do real well.”
While Monroe took second place in the singles tournament, his teammates junior Andrey Goryachkov and sophomore Juan Canales took third and fourth place, respectively.
Head coach Brad Pearce, who participated in the doubles tournament with Goryachkov, said that the tournament was a good chance for him to see the progress of his team.
“I think the most valuable thing is getting our guys a chance to play a lot of matches,” Pearce said. “They play multiple matches a day, and [it’s] kind of a kickstart to when we start actual practice.”
He was happy with what he saw, particularly from the three freshman, Monroe, Ball and Victor Brown.
“I think we’re ten deep, really, this year,” Pearce said.
BYU next plays in early October in the Utah Invitational.
