• Sean Hill picked up his second-straight ITA Mountain Regional Singles Champion title while Mateo Vereau Melendez was the runner-up.
• Hill led the team with 18 wins in singles play and Sam Tullis picked up 12 singles victories
• Tullis and Ben Gajardo led BYU’s doubles lineup with 11 wins
• BYU picked up three in-state rivals victories against Utah, Utah State and Weber State
• The Cougars were a perfect 4-0 at home before the season ended early
Season Review
The 2019-20 BYU men’s tennis team concluded the season before West Coast Conference play began, ending with an overall record of 6-7.
The Cougars had a successful fall season as senior Sean Hill claimed his second title as Regional Singles Champion with sophomore Mateo Vereau Melendez as the runner-up at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships.
Hill and Melendez traveled to the ITA Fall National Championships to compete for the Mountain region, where Melendez took on the No. 11 seed in the round of 32 but fell short in two sets.
Hill also competed in the ITA All-American, where he advanced to the consolation quarterfinals after defeating No. 21 Adria Soriano Barrera of Miami in two sets.
Because the university and NCAA canceled the rest of the season due to COVID-19,the Cougars were unable to compete in the conference race. Before the dual-match season began, the Cougars were projected to finish No. 3 in the WCC while Hill was named to the 2020 All-WCC Preseason Team.
Before the season came to a close, the Cougars grabbed two WCC weekly honors out of the seven weeks the WCC awarded them.
Seniors David Ball and Hill claimed the first WCC Doubles Team of the Week accolade after going 2-0 at BYU’s home opener and the first doubleheader of the season. Freshman Jack Barnett was named the WCC Singles Player of the Week when he took down senior Ignatius Castelino from Denver in just two sets, earning the lone point for the Cougars in that dual match.
• David Ball: WCC All-Academic Team, WCC Doubles Team of the Week
• Jack Barnett: WCC Singles Player of the Week
• Vinicius Feijao Nogueira: WCC All-Academic honorable mention
• Matheus Ferreira Leite: WCC All-Academic Team
• Sean Hill: ITA Mountain Region Senior Player of the Year, ITA Fall Mountain Regional Singles Champion, WCC All-Academic honorable mention, WCC Doubles Team of the Week
• Sam Tullis: WCC All-Academic honorable mention
• Mateo Vereau Melendez: ITA Fall Mountain Regional Singles Runner-up
BYU started the dual season with a tough lineup facing No. 11 UCLA and two other top-50 teams. Despite falling short in those matchups, as the season progressed the Cougars defeated three in-state rivals: Utah, Utah State and Weber State. BYU also picked up wins over George Washington, East Tennessee State and Idaho State.
At home, BYU went 4-0, extending its winning streak to 22-straight matches.
Hill led the team with 18 singles wins for the season and Sam Tullis trailed with 12 singles victories. New team members Barnett and Matheus Ferreira Leite followed with 11 singles wins apiece.
Tullis and Ben Gajardo led BYU’s doubles teams with 11 wins, while Cougar pair Ball and Hill followed with six victories, going 6-0 at the No. 3 spot.
Hill ended his BYU career at No. 2 all-time in singles winning percentage. He posted a 64-21 record for a .750 percentage.
With Ball, Hill and Tullis graduating, the Cougars look to improve next year as they return the majority of their lineup and bring on two five-star recruits.
