_ctofeatured.jpg "The senior from England is the lone Bronco in Tulsa.")
The senior from England is the lone Bronco in Tulsa.
Boise State University Team Page
TULSA, Okla. - Boise State men’s tennis player Andy Bettles is in Tulsa, Okla., this weekend for one of the most prestigious collegiate tournaments of the year. The ITA All-American Championships is one of a few truly national events for a collegiate tennis player during the fall, one in which a coveted invitation to the party is hard to come by. But for Boise State’s Bettles not only did he get that invite, it was one directly seeding him into the main draw, bypassing the two qualifying rounds that started last weekend.
TOURNAMENT DRAW
The Somerset, England, native entered the fall semester ranked 21st-nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. That ranking is based off of last year’s performance when he was named the 2013 Mountain West Player of the Year while compiling a 30-10 overall singles record. Bettles went 8-7 against players ranked nationally by the ITA last year accounting for most of his 10 losses during the campaign. He rode that success into the 2013 NCAA National Championship Tournament for singles last May.
Boise State’s senior leader has continued his success this fall. He rolled through the Midland Intercollegiate Invitational (Sept. 13-15) with and undefeated 5-0 record as he claimed the singles title in his lone competition of the fall leading up to the All-American. Among those he faced at Midland where Texas Tech’s top player Felipe Soares and Texas’ Soren Hess-Olesen who is ranked 10th-nationally.
When he walks onto the court at the University of Tulsa’s D. Case Tennis Center Thursday morning, Oct. 3, at 9 a.m. (Central Time) against the University of Texas’ George Goldhoff, he will be carrying Boise State’s banner as the only Bronco competing in the event. Bettles will be facing one of the top freshman in the nation in Goldhoff, ranked tied for eighth in the ITA’s preseason rankings for newcomers and freshman.
If Bettles is victorious he will play his second round match at 1:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of the No. 1 player in the nation Mikelis Libietis from Tennessee versus UCLA’s Dennis Mikrtchian.
The eyes of Bronco nation will be on the senior from England as he faces this next challenge head-on in Tulsa. Bettles will be looking for continued success and will be carrying Boise State’s blue and orange with him on his trek through the All-American Championships.
