Tobias Flood is a red shirt senior member of SMU’s tennis team. (The Daily Campus)

SMU began its season with three players in the NTC Invitational at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center [NTC] were in New York City this weekend.

The Mustangs also represented by four athletes at Tyler Community College in the Tyler Invitational.

At the NTC Invitational, the Mustangs competed with elite programs and faced some of the nation’s toughest teams.

The invitational was hosted by the U.S. Tennis Association at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing Meadows Corona Park area of Queens, N.Y.

Freshman Evan Bechtel fell to first-seeded Mike Lampa of St. John’s 1-6 and 2-6, advancing to the round of 16 in the C-group of men’s singles.

Later Bechtel competed in the men’s doubles with Arturs Kazijeves in the A group. The tandem lost to a Farleigh Dickenson University pair 8-6 in the second round.

In high school Betchel led his high school team to a state championship in 2011 and, as a senior, won the Ohio High School singles championship.

Arturs Kazijeves, the 2011 to 2012 freshman of the year, was selected to All-Conference USA Second Team for doubles with a 14-6 overall record. He also led the team with a 12-6 record in singles play.

Senior tennis player Gaston Cuadranti competed in the A- group of men’s singles. He defeated his first two opponents but lost to Winston Lin, the No. three seed from Columbia, in the quarterfinals.

Cuadranti was SMU’s leader in wins for the 2011 to 2012 season and was a Second Team All-Conference USA selection for singles.

After both invitationals, SMU will set their sights on Tulsa and the All-American Championships Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.

The team will participate in the Collin County Invitational before heading to the TCU-hosted Texas Regional Qualifiers. There, the team hopes to secure a return trip to New York for the National Indoor Championships.