PROVO, Utah - Cougar nation gathered to celebrate the coming 2022-23 athletic season at the 17th annual Cougar Kickoff at the Student Athlete Building on Wednesday.
"The Cougar Kickoff has always been the first time each season where our fans get to come out and bump shoulders with many of our other student-athletes," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "We weren't able to do this the last two years due to COVID-19 and weather, so our fans are hungry for some Cougar Kickoff."
The Kickoff provided fans the opportunity to mingle with student athletes and see a close-up of BYU athletic facilities. The event also included an assortment of activities, food vendors, prizes and giveaways.
The men's and women's tennis teams hosted a ping pong booth where fans could test their skills against some of BYU's best.
"Our fan experience team did a great job putting together a Kickoff that was bigger, more efficient and more exciting than ever before," Holmoe said. "It was a great night."
While the bulk of the tennis season will occur in early 2023, BYU men's tennis will play in a few invitationals this fall. One of the biggest tournaments every year is the ITA Regional Championships. BYU competes in the Mountain Region with 16 other schools from eight different states. The 2022 edition will be hosted by the University of New Mexico from Oct. 13-17.
“I'm looking forward to it," junior Zach Fuchs said of the fall schedule. "Regionals is in October, that's going to be fun. We got it in New Mexico, so we got tough conditions but it’s a fun tournament, everyone in the region is going to be there. And then we're going to a few more places, so there's some good competition to be had out there.”
The full fall schedule will be announced soon. Further details about the team, including further scheduling announcements, match previews and recaps, will be announced on the team's byucougars.com page. The team can also be followed on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @byumtennis.