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Men's Tennis Prepares for NCAAs
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May 12, 1999
Cavaliers Face South Alabama in First Round: Virginia faces South Alabamain the first round of the 1999 NCAA Championships at the Palmer/SalloumTennis Center on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford,Miss. The Cavaliers and Jaguars are slated to play in the second match at 2p.m. (central) on Friday (May 14). Mississippi and Navy play at 10 a.m. inthe day’s first match. The winners of these two matches will play in theregional championship on Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Cavaliers are 14-9 this season and are ranked 26th in thecurrent ITA rankings, while South Alabama, the 1999 Sun Belt champions,comes into the match ranked 52nd with a 10-15 overall ranking. Mississippiis ranked third with a 17-5 record. Navy is 18-7 and is the Patriot Leaguechampion.
Virginia won the only meeting against South Alabama-a 6-1 win inJanuary 1997. The Jaguars were ranked 10th at the time and UVa’s win ratesas the highest ranked team the Cavaliers have ever defeated. Currentco-captain Kent Koch, a sophomore at the time, clinched the win with a 7-5,7-6(5) win over Laszlo Rethelyi at #5. Two other current Cavaliers also wonthat day. Hyon Yoo upset Nic Chisholm, the nation’s 24th-ranked player,6-3, 6-4 at #2, while John Winter, playing in the first dual match of hiscareer, downed Myles Clouston 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 at #6. The Jaguars won allthree doubles matches, but Virginia roared back by sweeping all six singlesmatches for the win.
The Cavaliers are 14-14 all-time vs. Navy, but haven’t played theMidshipmen in eight years. Virginia and Mississippi have never met on thetennis court.
Virginia Makes Third Consecutive Appearance in NCAA Tournament: TheCavaliers’ bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament marks their thirdconsecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth overall. Last seasonVirginia fell just short in its bid to advance to the round of 16 at theNCAAs. The Cavaliers rolled over Florida State 4-1 and VirginiaCommonwealth 4-2 before losing in the regional finals to South Carolina4-2. Curiously South Carolina has ended Virginia’s season each of the lasttwo years.
Head Coach Dick Stockton: Dick Stockton makes his head coaching debut thisseason with the Cavaliers, aiming to continue UVa’s rise to the elite ranksof collegiate tennis. No stranger to high level tennis, Stockton bringsmore than two decades of professional tennis playing experience toCharlottesville. One of the top singles and doubles players in the worldduring his career, Stockton has reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and theFrench Open and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. He is a five-timemember of the U.S. Davis Cup team, including the championship squad in1979. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, he continued to earn many prestigioushonors, including winning titles at the U.S. Open 45-and-over doubleschampionship in 1996 and the Wimbledon 45-and-over doubles championship in1997.
Stockton has guided the Cavaliers to a 14-9 record, including a 4-4mark in ACC play. His 14 wins in his first year as head coach are tied forfourth-most by a first-year coach in school history. John Murray guided UVato a record 18 wins in his first year in 1990.
Stockton Brings NCAA Championship Experience to UVa: First-year head coachDick Stockton knows about the pressure of competing in the NCAAChampionships. Among his many accomplishments in a very successful playingcareer, Stockton’s tennis resume features an NCAA title. He captured theNCAA singles championship in 1972 while leading Trinity (Texas) to the teamchampionship. Stockton downed his teammate and roommate Brian Gottfried4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to win the singles crown. He also teamed with BobMcKinley in doubles and almost pulled off a double triumph, but they wereeliminated in the semifinals by the eventual champions, Stanford’s RoscoeTanner and Alex Mayer.
Three With 20+ Wins: For the fifth consecutive season, three Cavaliers havewon at least 20 matches. Brian Vahaly leads the way with 27 victories, butHyon Yoo is not far behind with 26. Yoo led the team in wins last seasonand needs two more to tie his career high set last season. Tommy Croker,Virginia’s #5 player, has 21 wins, including a team-best 7-1 record in ACCmatches.
Croker, Winter ACC Champs: For the second year in a row Virginia featuresthe ACC champion at #5 singles and #2 doubles. Sophomore Tommy Croker is adouble champion-the first player in school history to be an ACC champion inboth singles and doubles in the same season. Croker has come on strong thisspring, compiling a 16-6 dual match record with wins in nine of his last 11matches. He had a 7-1 ACC record, including a perfect 6-0 mark at #5, andwon his last six matches in ACC play. He teamed with John Winter at #2doubles this season as they proved to be one of the hottest duos in theconference. They did not play together until the spring, but have compileda gaudy 15-3 doubles record, including a 6-1 league mark, at #2. They had a12-match winning streak stopped by Duke late in the regular season.
Sophs Dot Cavalier Line-Up: Virginia’s line-up features four sophomores inthe top six in what might be one of the youngest line-ups in the nation.Brian Vahaly plays #1, Huntley Montgomery at #2, Tommy Croker at #5 andBrian Hunter at #6. Vahaly, last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year, hasplayed #1 since last season, while Montgomery mans the #2 position for thesecond year in a row. Croker moved up from the #6 spot of a year ago, whileHunter saw limited action during his freshman season. Hyon Yoo plays #4 andis the team’s lone senior in the starting line-up. Junior co-captain JohnWinter, moved to #3 this season from #5 last spring.
Doubles Play Gets Early Lead: Virginia features three outstanding doublesunits that have shown throughout the spring the ability to put pressure onthe opposition. In 23 dual matches this spring, Virginia has claimed thedoubles point 18 times, including a streak of 12 consecutive matches thatended against Duke late in the regular season. Huntley Montgomery and BrianVahaly form UVa’s top tandem. They are 14-9 this season and are currentlyranked ninth nationally. Tommy Croker and John Winter have manned the #2position all season and have been fabulous, posting a 15-3 record thatincludes a 12-match winning streak. Brian Hunter and Hyon Yoo have quietlyrolled to an 11-4 overall record as UVa’s #3 squad, winning eight of theirlast 10 matches.
Two Invited to NCAA Tournament: Brian Vahaly, the Cavaliers’ top playerthis year, received a bid to both the NCAA Singles and DoublesChampionships. He competed in the singles championship last season and isthe first player in school history to be invited to the nationalchampionships two years in a row. Huntley Montgomery will pair with Vahalyin the doubles championships, the first time Virginia has had a doublesteam invited to the NCAA Championships. They have combined for a 14-9record this season and are currently ranked ninth in the nation in doubles.