BULLARD – It was back in the eighth grade when Amber Braaten, the oldest of a trio of tennis playing brother and sisters, moved to Bullard.

With a little guidance, it wasn’t too long after that, Amber Braaten began to take the game seriously the next year as a freshman.

In her four year stint at BHS, Amber was named MVP for the tennis program all four years.

In addition to that and her grade-point-average, she was named Female Scholar-Athlete in her final year.

The Palm Beach Athletic University, All-Conference junior, Braaten was a regional qualifier the last three years for Bullard, and has stayed plenty busy when not playing for her West Palm Beach university.

By NCCAA rules, the tennis season is played in the spring. Only five weeks of practice in the fall, ending in a tournament is all fall tennis played.

“In the spring, we practice about a month before starting our season,” said Amber, “which if we make it to the post season, ends after school has gotten out.” Early on, a great senior season was topped off by the USTA competition.

Top left, Amber Braaten in conference action for Palm Beach Athletic University, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Braaten and her teammates were the national runner-up to Dallas Baptist University last year in the NCCAA national finals. Top right, Braaten is shown finishing off a serve during a match this past season. Braaten is a junior this season, and hopes to return to play at nationals and hopefully play against her brother, a recent signee of Dallas Baptist University. (Courtesy Photos) “My senior year was definitely exciting,” Amber began, “I got most of the attention for tennis because of school tournaments, but playing in the USTA tournaments was crutial for improving my game.”

Amber Braaten is going into her senior tennis season at Palm Beach Athletic University, in West Palm Springs, Fla. After offers from many schools, Tarleton State, Midwestern State, and LeTourneau were on the Braaten final recruiting list.

But an offer and a trip to West Palm Springs, and it was a done deal.

Her team placed runner-up at nationals one year ago, as Amber played No. 2 doubles for PBAU and her doubles partner and former roommate, Natalie Aleman, after graduating.

Amber also was the No. 4 singles player for her Florida team.

A new roommate to break in and a few ropes passed on to the oldest of three Braaten tennis phenoms.

“Living on the East Coast in amazing, and I love just hanging out on the beach on the weekends or walking around the city with my friends,” Amber started out, about her school and surroundings.

Graduating in 2012, Amber is a Broadcast Journalism major with a minor in Psychology.

After a great year on the courts, Amber also held down a cumulative of 3.94.

That followed a 4.0 her entire sophomore year.

When asked about the upcoming season, Braaten was optimistic, saying, “We have a number of the same girls returning this year; we do have the loss of our number one and two seeds, which will put a hole in our team, but we have some new girls we are very excited about.”

As for the runner-up spot to Dallas Baptist in the nationals, Amber added, “This year was amazing; our girls team qualified for the NCAA regional tournament for Division II for the first time in the history of our school.”

PBAU won the first round and then lost to the number two team in the country last year. Later at the NCCAA (Christian Schools), Braaten and crew took second place.

Her efforts at nationals did not go unnoticed, as Amber was the recipient of the Coaches Award for the past two years and was named Captain for this upcoming year.

Not only is Amber a leader on the courts, she is Vice President of Athletics at the school next year, and served as Secretary this past year. She is also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), where she will serve on the leadership board of the Event Coordinator.

Being in class has always been her priority, and she made the Presidents List the past two semesters, while managing to work in a program in West Palm called First Serve, which provides free lessons to inner-city kids. After at least three hours a night, Amber has seen a change in the past three years.

“I’ve become much more independent,” said Braaten, “It’s really hard being away from my family and friends, but overall, I think I made the right decision by leaving.

“I do struggle sometimes missing Bullard, but luckily my friends and family are only a phone call away.” When asked about the support back in east Texas, Amber reeled-off a list, without giving a second thought.

“Above everything, God and my family has always been amazing, especially my DBU-bound brother, Christopher, who never minds hitting with me until midnight,” Amber added, “and drives all over the state with me, attending tournaments.”

Most recently, Amber played in the East Texas Open and will be playing in some International Tennis Associations tourneys in the next month and a half. A few months back, Amber just in from college, was playing in Bullard for a great cause, and had a great time teaming up for the Bullard Cup.

“Playing in the Bullard Cup was a blast!” Amber finished up, saying, “It was so great to see the community get involved and take an interest in tennis!”

NOTE: Should a re-match occur at the NCCAA nationals, it would be brother-versus-sister, as Christopher will be a freshmen for the defending champion Patriots of DBU, and Amber in her final year at a national team trophy.