Conference Foes Visit as Alumni Gather

PROVO -- Over sixty former BYU men's tennis players will return to Provo this weekend as the current team hosts San Diego State, New Mexico and in-state rival Utah. Coming from as far away as Mexico, the alumni will watch as the Cougars try to improve upon their 13-9 overall record and 1-2 record in Mountain West Conference play.

"We're very excited to have the alumni coming in," said BYU head coach Brad Pearce. "It will be great to have them back here, surrounding the tennis program again. This will be a great weekend of tennis."

No. 54 SDSU enters the weekend with a 12-8, 1-2 MWC record after falling to New Mexico on Saturday. Last year the Cougars posted a 4-3 win over the Aztcs, and regular-season champions, at the MWC Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

With their win against SDSU, No. 51 New Mexico remained undefeated in MWC play and improved to 16-6 overall. The Lobos are led by senior, and No. 41-ranked Max Jones.

Utah improved to 10-9 on the season after sweeping Air Force on Sunday. Saturday marks the first meeting between Utah and BYU since the inception of the Deseret First Duel.

The Duel uses a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition between the two schools. A team trophy is awarded to the individual winner of each sport -- football, basketball, softball, etc. Points won by the individual sports count toward each school's overall total. At the conclusion of each school year, a granite traveling trophy will be awarded to the overall rivalry series champion.

As part of the weekend celebration, free pizza will be provided for fans on Thursday. On both Friday and Saturday, fans can enjoy free burgers, chips and drinks. Cosmo will also be on hand supporting the Cougar team.

During the Utah match, fans can also participate in a prize drawing, with prizes including an autographed Pete Sampras jersey, autographed posters and photos of Anna Kournikova and an autographed pair of Nike shoes from Mark Knowles, the No. 1 doubles player in the world.

BYU is scheduled to take on SDSU on Thursday, New Mexico on Friday and Utah on Saturday. All matches will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts, if weather permits. Admission is free and BYU "Y Lot" parking is available to visitors after 4 p.m. on weekdays.