Finished seasons in top 25 in the national rankings for four consecutive years – #24 in 1975, #18 in 1976, #14 in 1977, and #10 in 1978 … Ranked as high as #8 in 1978 … Ricardo Eynaudi and Antonio Hartmann represented Pan American at NCAA Championships in 1975 and 1976 … Hall of Famer Rob Hubbard selected for 1977 NCAA Singles and Doubles in first year of official invites based upon merit, along with Eynaudi for doubles … Hubbard, Sean Sorensen, and John Picken were selected in 1978 but did not compete as a protest for the team not being selected for the 16-team field for the team championships, despite being ranked #8 at the time (ranking dropped to #10 after the NCAA Championships despite the team not playing) … Pan American was the official host of the 1975 and 1976 NCAA Championships held at the H-E-B Tennis Center in Corpus Christi. Teams featured some of the winningest players in program history, including Robert Bettauer, who ranks second in career singles wins (79) and fourth in total wins (130), Picken, who is tied for third in singles wins (78), fifth in doubles wins (56), and third in total wins (134), Hubbard, who is tied for fourth in singles wins (62), and Eynauldi, who is third in doubles wins (64).
"In 1975, I was a graduating senior, and these young kids came in from different cultures, and when the big teams came to Orville Cox Tennis Center, like Tennessee and LSU, we beat them,"
Francisco (Paco) Ceron said. "Coach Dennis Conner put together this incredible team and together we put Pan American on the map."
"This was among the best four years of my life because of our teammates," Bettauer said. "We were an independent school, so we got to play everyone, but the reason we had such a great experience is we got plugged into the Rio Grande Valley. It's a remarkable part of the world."
"These Pan Am teams shocked other teams year in and year out,"
Derek Sagal said. "We didn't discriminate. We beat everybody. People constantly wondered how we did it. We took down all the big budget teams. We hope to serve as a beacon for all future teams to see what is possible if you work together as a team."
1975 Roster
| Francisco (Paco) Ceron |
| Ricardo Eynaudi |
| Antonio Hartmann |
| Robert Bettauer |
| Carlos Carrales |
| Jesus Cruz |
| Carlos Eynaudi |
| Ricky Garcia |
| Rob Hubbard |
| Sean Sorensen |
| Mark Waterhouse |
| Head Coach: Dennis Conner |
1976 Roster
| Robert Bettauer |
| Jose Luis Damiani |
| Carlos Eynaudi |
| Ricardo Eynaudi |
| Antonio Hartmann |
| Rob Hubbard |
| Sean Sorenson |
| Head Coach: A.G. Longoria |
1977 Roster
| Robert Bettauer |
| Ricardo Eynaudi |
| Rob Hubbard |
| Brian Liberman |
| John Picken |
| Sean Sorenson |
| Head Coach: A.G. Longoria |
1978 Roster
| Sean Sorensen |
| Rob Hubbard |
| Robert Bettauer |
| John Picken |
| Derek Sagal |
| Alfonso Gonzalez |
| Josef Brabenec |
| Ivan Solis |
| Hugo Hamden |
| Greg Land |
| Benito Reyes |
| Head Coach: A.G. Longoria |
