Oklahoma State University Athletics
Daniel Byrnes Earns ITA All-American Honors
June 05, 2006 | Cowboy Tennis
To earn All-American honors a player must achieve at least one of three criteria set forth by the ITA. They must be a top 16 seed at the NCAA Individual Tournament, make the round of 16 at the tournament or finish in the top 20 of the final ITA rankings.
Byrnes met two of the criteria, as he was seeded in the top 16 at the individual tournament and finished 17th in the final ITA rankings, that were released on Friday. Byrnes was injured in the opening round of the individual tournament and was unable to finish his match.
The Melbourne, Australia, native has wrapped one of the most successful individual seasons in Cowboy tennis history. Besides All-American honors, the junior was the Central Region champion, unanimous All-Big 12 selection, All-Big 12 selection for his play in doubles and finished the season ranked 17th in the final ITA rankings.
The final team rankings were released on Friday and Oklahoma State came in at No. 16. Head coach James Wadley's Cowboys have finished in the top 20 three of the last four years and have also been selected to host an NCAA Regional the past two seasons.
Ivan Puchkarov finished the season ranked No. 90 and with an 18-3 record. Puchkarov was the Newcomer of the Year in the Big 12 and Central Region as well as a unanimous All-Big 12 selection this season. Daniel and Nathan Byrnes were also ranked on Friday as the brothers finished the season No. 33.
