It may have been for only one season, but Bear Men's Tennis' Mansur Khajimuradov made the most of his time at Southwest excelling on the court and in the classroom. Now the native of Kazakhstan will get the opportunity to shine on the four-year level after signing with Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

"I'm very excited to go there but I'm sad to leave Southwest," said Khajimuradov who admitted that coming to play at Southwest was his first experience in the United States. "It was interesting, it was hard to communicate."

Khajimuradov said that Northeastern State is starting a men's tennis program and he is anxious to see how well he and the team will do in the inaugural season.

Reflecting on the last year, Khajimuradov – who finished the season ranked No. 23 in the nation – believes that he made big step forward in his game, adding praise to the Southwest coaching staff.

"I feel like I feel like I increased my level of tennis a lot, thanks to Coach (Dean) Clower and Miss Robin (Clower)," he said. "Not only the game of tennis but also with my mentality."

Khajimurdov adds that he wants to major in Mechanical Engineering and said that Northeastern State offers what he needs to succeed in that.

He also wanted to give thanks to his family back in Kazakhstan and add that is he very grateful for the Clowers for making Southwest feel like a home away from home.

Southwest head coach Dean Clower adds that he is very happy to see Khajimuradov continue his academics and athletics and said that he feels that they both accomplished a goal they set prior to the season beginning.

"One of the things that we talked about before he came here is that he wanted to move on to a four-year school," Clower said. "I'm so excited that he has met his objective and goal and the whole tennis family is sad but happy."