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Oct. 18, 1999
AUSTIN, Texas – University of Virginia third year tennis player BrianVahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) lost to Stanford’s K.J. Hippensteel6-1, 6-3 in the finals of the 1999 Reebok/Intercollegiate TennisAssociation (ITA) Men’s All-American Championships at the Penick-AllisonTennis Center at the University of Texas on Monday. The Reebok/ITA Men’sAll-American Championships is the second leg of the ITA Grand Slam.
Vahaly, the first ACC player to reach the All-American final, was the sixthseed in the tournament. He is currently ranked ninth by the ITA. Vahalybeat five of the top 60 ranked players to reach his first collegiate grandslam final. Vahaly and Hippensteel had met one other time prior to todayduring their collegiate careers with Hippensteel winning 6-4, 6-3 in thefirst round of last season’s Rolex National Indoor Championships in Dallas.Vahaly was named an ITA All-American as a sophomore last season, becomingVirginia’s first All-American.
“I thought I started a little slow and (Hippensteel) played very well,”said Vahaly. “He was hitting the ball very hard, very flat and very deep.Usually even the pros don’t do that. There wasn’t much I could do. Hejust kind of overpowered me.” “Last time I played him his backhand wasn’tas good, so I came out with the game plan to attack his backhand. Hisbackhand was unbelievable today. He just gave me no options,” said Vahaly.
Vahaly’s 1999 Reebok/ITA All-American Championship Results:
First Round: Defeated Purdue’s Jason Marshall (#57) 7-6 (2), 6-2 on 10/14
Second Round: Defeated Arkansas’ Oscar Johansson (#35) 6-2, 6-2 on 10/15
Third Round: Defeated South Carolina’s Guillaume Legat (#28) 6-4, 6-1 on 10/16
Quarterfinals: Defeated Tennessee’s Mark Parsons (#15) 6-2, 6-2 on 10/16
Semifinals: Defeated LSU’s Michal Chmela (#7) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on 10/17
Finals: Lost to Stanford’s K.J. Hippensteel (#26) 1-6, 3-6 on 10/18