University of North Texas Athletics
Mean Green Tennis Signs Aba Butain
5/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
DENTON (5/26/04) North Texas head women’s tennis coach Dawna Prevette has announced that Aziza Aba Butain signed a National Letter of Intent to play with the Mean Green next season.
Originally from Geneva , Switzerland , Aba Butain attended The Meadows School in Las Vegas , Nevada , where she was a four-year letterwinner with the tennis team. She has picked up a number of accomplishments and honors during her tennis career, including runner-up at state in doubles and singles as a sophomore and junior, respectively.
“Aziza is very dedicated and she is a hard worker,” said Prevette. “I can’t’ is not in her vocabulary. She has been able to implement variety into her game and I’m excited to work with her next year.”
The team captain her senior campaign, Aba Butain finished second in zone singles after having to retire the championship match with an injury. She attempted to compete at state, but was hampered by the injury and received fourth after having to withdraw from the competition. As a freshman, Aba Butain took 4th in zone singles play.
Among her tennis awards are the Poncho Gonzales Most Promising Player, Muterspaw National Sportsmanship Award and Pepsi Circus Athlete of the Month. Aba Butain has participated in many tournaments all over the country, including the Easter Bowl and the Supernational Clay Court Championships. In addition, she participated in sectionals, circuits, nationals, zonals and various other team events such as the Billie Jean King Junior World Team Tennis competition.
Aba Butain participated in the Tennis: Europe program that was made up of nine juniors of varying ages from across the United States and sent them to England , France , Holland and Germany to play in international tournaments against some of the top juniors in the world. A victory over the No. 1 player in India in an ITF match highlighted Aba Butain’s participation in the program.
Her experience also includes competition with Team Nevada , which plays in several national tournaments.
In addition to her accomplishments on the tennis courts, Aba Butain has been involved in a number of community services and extracurricular activities at her school. Some of her academic awards include the Cultural Anthropology Honors Student of the Year and the Precalculus Honors Student of the Year. She is the Crafts for Kids Student Ambassador, received the Community Enrichment Award for Southern Nevada in the youth category, a member of the Make-A-Wish Club at her high school, competed on the debate team and participated in band.
