June 27, 2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas A&M's Colin Hoover (Victoria, Texas) recently won the U.S. Open Texas Sectional Qualifying Tournament held over the weekend at the Arlington Tennis Center.
Hoover, a 21-year-old junior for the nationally-ranked Aggie men's tennis team, defeated Ryan Ybarra in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, in the finals to earn a spot in the U.S. Open National Playoffs - Men's Championship to be held on July 22-25 at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, Ga. He also beat Jeffrey Offerdahl, 7-5, 6-3, in the semifinals and Blake Davis, who is the brother of former A&M player Tres Davis (2001), 6-2, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
"I'm glad I had a tough draw and played the best guys in the tournament," said Hoover, who played primarily at No. 6 singles for an A&M squad which turned in the second-most wins in program history with a 25-7 record and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season this past spring. "It feels really good to come out and be able to pull through and win this tournament. I can't wait to get to Atlanta."
Hoover is one of 16 regional players who will compete in a single-elimination draw played to the best-of-three tiebreak sets. The U.S. Open National Playoffs expand the footprint of the U.S. Open and provide the opportunity for all players 14 years of age and older to earn a wild card into the 2010 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament to be held in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. in August.