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Watling Prepares For Final Home Match
4/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2012
TULSA, Okla. - Ashley Watling will play his final home match for The University of Tulsa men's tennis team when the Golden Hurricane plays host to UCF at 11 a.m. April 7 at Case Tennis Center.
The lone senior will leave behind a legacy that rivals some of the best players to ever don the blue and gold at Tulsa.
Watling is currently tied for eighth in school history with 81 career singles victories, and he is six wins shy of tying Will Gray (2004-08) for fifth place. He also has 92 career doubles victories. Tulsa does not have doubles records, but Watling is considered to be one of the best in school history.
"Ashley has been one of the best doubles players to ever play at Tulsa," Head Coach Vince Westbrook said. "The top coaches around the nation consider him one of the best doubles players around."
Tulsa has racked up 70 dual victories in Watling's four years, and he has also been a catalyst of two Conference USA championship teams in 2009 and 2011. The team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years, and Watling led the Golden Hurricane to its first appearance in the NCAA Round of 16 last season.
"He is a great competitor and he has been the backbone of this team ever since Arnau Brugues graduated from the program in 2009," Westbrook said. "He shows up and does his job when it comes to competing. You have to beat him because he never gives anything away. He just goes out and fights day in and day out. It's all about the team and the university with him. He is the epitome of team player."
Watling has picked up plenty of accolades during his time at Tulsa, and some of those include being named to the all-C-USA Singles First Team twice (2010, 2011), the all-C-USA Doubles First Team twice (2010, 2011), and the all-C-USA Singles Second Team once (2009).
He was named the 2011 C-USA Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship and one half of the Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship.
He achieved a career-high ITA national singles rank of No. 21 on Jan. 5, 2010, and he is currently No. 89 in the nation.
He has been ranked No. 3 in the nation in doubles on three occasions this year, which tied the school record. He and junior Clifford Marsland currently comprise the fourth-ranked doubles pair in the NCAA.
Watling and Marsland won the 2011 ITA Central Region Indoor Doubles Championship, and the tandem finished runner up at the 2011 USTA/ITA National Indoor Doubles Championship.
Watling also advanced to the Round of 32 at both the 2010 NCAA Singles Championship and the 2010 NCAA Doubles Championship. He was a quarterfinalist at the 2009 D'Novo/ITA All-American Singles Championships.
Watling is an eight-time C-USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honoree, and a two-time C-USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Month winner.
He will graduate in December 2012 with a degree in business management.
QUOTES FROM CURRENT TEAMMATES:
Junior Clifford Marsland
"I would be surprised if there has been an athlete at Tulsa who has ever competed any harder then Ashley Watling. He is the British Bulldog - the Lleyton Hewitt of college tennis. Playing doubles with him has been the best experience of my life. We have gelled perfectly, and I hope that we can add an NCAA doubles national championship in May."
Junior Tristan Jackson
"Ashley has been a big inspiration for me in terms of his work ethic on and off the court. He puts everything he has into every match he plays, and he has been a great role model for me since I was a freshman."
Junior Grant Ive
"Ash has always been a big part of our team. He's one of the players who we can always rely on to compete well and give 100 percent in all his matches. He has been able to lead this team through his great work ethic, fighting spirit and determination."
