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ITA Regional results

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Northern Colorado sophomore Calix Van Lier finished with an impressive 4-1 record at last week's Wilson/ITA Mountain Regional Championships at the Darling Tennis Center.

As the only Bear to qualify for the season-ending tournament, Van Lier made sure that Northern Colorado was not easily forgotten.

The second-year player from Longmont, began his successful tournament with a first round 6-3, 6-3 win against Air Force's Brett Rodgers before earning a second-round dispatching of Utah State's Jacob Asplund, 6-2, 6-3.

In the round of 32 Van Lier handedly defeated Idaho's Alex Joitoiu, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the final 16. There, though, his run came to an end with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Nevada's Wessim Derbel.

Fortunately, the consolation bracket gave Calix an opportunity to continue his season with one more match. And in that final match-up, he defeated BYU's Daniel Hwang in a grueling 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 match. His hard-fought victory over Hwang served as a great end to Van Lier's tournament run.

Van Lier was one of Northern Colorado's top players last season as a freshman, and he gained valuable experience last week with run at the regional tournament. Hopes are high that he can take what he has learned from his weekend in Vegas and turn it into even more success in the spring season.