HOUSTON – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior
Kevin Bettendroffer stood toe-to-toe with the top seed at the Houston Pro Futures Wild Card tournament Sunday afternoon, but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-4.
"This was a very productive weekend for our team," said Director of Tennis
Steve Moore. "We learned a lot about the things we must work on and improve to reach the level this team wants to be at. These guys all competed very hard and really did a great job of encouraging each other and being a great team."
Bettendroffer was the lone remaining Islander of a five-man contingent which traveled to Houston for the opening event of the Fall season. Two of the Islanders were knocked out of the event by fellow teammates as Bettendroffer moved into the quarterfinals by defeating former Islander Guillaum Rauseo in the round of 16.
On Sunday, Bettendroffer ran into the top seeded player in the tournament. A sophomore from Baylor, Juan Benitez upended Bettendroffer's hopes of returning to the main draw with the 6-2, 6-4, decision.
Still, it was a positive experience for the Islanders.
"We leave very motivated and very excited about the future," said Moore. "We're very grateful to Rice and head coach Efe Ustendag for their hard work in bringing a pro event to Houston. This event is such an asset for our college guys and a great opportunity for our team."
The Islanders will return to action in two weeks as the Blue and Green hosts the Islanders Classic on September 16-18 at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center and H-E-B Tennis Center.
