The BYU men’s tennis team finished the season better than expected, ending with a 13-12 overall record and a 10-2 record at home.
“We are really proud of our home record of 10-2,” said BYU coach Brad Pearce. “I think our crowds were terrific and I think we really had a fun home match atmosphere and that’s really important for the guys.”
The Cougars finished third in the West Coast Conference, despite being projected to finish outside the top three at the start of the season.
Some of BYU’s biggest victories came against regional opponent Denver, 2017 West Coast Conference champion San Diego and No. 42 Drake on the road.
The team not only excelled on the court but in its classes as well.
Brothers Matthew and John Pearce received WCC All-Academic honors this season. John Pearce also received the Kimball Memorial Award, which is the award for having the highest GPA of any BYU student-athlete.
Five players from the Cougars received weekly conference honors throughout the season.
Senior Keaton Cullimore was named WCC Singles Player of the Week after wins over Utah State and Santa Clara.
Cullimore was also named to the Doubles Team of the Week with John Pearce after their win against San Diego.
Jacob Sullivan and John Pearce broke into the national rankings at No. 58 in February after they defeated the No. 15 doubles pair at Stanford.
The duo was also named WCC Doubles Team of the Week after the upset.
Sullivan was named to the All-WCC First Team Singles after leading the team in singles victories and was named WCC Singles Player of the Week after wins against New Mexico and San Francisco.
“Jake (Sullivan) is a great leader,” Matthew Pearce said. “He made sure that we left everything we had on the court. He did a lot, not only winning for the team, but he was a great example of how we need to be on and off the court.”
Sullivan also paired up with senior Aidan Carrazedo and the duo was named to the All-WCC Second Team Doubles with a 5-2 record.
The Cougars will lose four seniors from this year’s team but will look to build upon this season next year.
In April, BYU signed Belarus-native Artsiom Ausiyevich, who has been ranked as high as No. 1 nationally.
“We’re looking forward to Artie joining the team in the fall,” coach Brad Pearce said. “He has the game style we’re looking for that will help him be a successful collegiate player. We feel he will be a good fit academically and with the culture here at BYU. We’re excited to have him on board.”
Ausiyevich is a two-time national doubles champion and was named national singles runner-up three times.
