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Dec. 9, 1999

PRINCETON, N.J. – The University of Virginia men’s tennis team is ranked23rd in the nation in the 1999 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)Fall rankings released this week. UVa has a pair of doubles teams rankedin the top 25, and in addition, two players have also received nationalsingles rankings. In Region II, the Cavaliers are ranked fourth and boostthe top two doubles tandems as well as two of the top 11 singles players.

In the national rankings, Virginia received 1,802 votes to move up sixspots from the preseason rankings to 23rd in fall poll. UCLA is the topranked team with 2,609 votes. The Cavaliers concluded the 1998-99 seasonranked 29th. In the fall Region II poll, UVa is the fourth ranked teambehind Duke, Virginia Commonwealth and South Carolina.

The Virginia doubles tandem of fourth year John Winter (Richmond, Va./St.Christopher’s) and third year Tommy Croker (Alexandria, Va./St. Stephens)are ranked ninth in the nation, thanks in part to winning the ITA Region IIIndoor Doubles Championship in Chapel Hill, N.C., in November. The duo wonfive doubles matches in the tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 2000Indoor Rolex National Indoor Championships in Dallas in February. Winterand Croker were tied for 50th in the preseason rankings. Third yearplayers Brian Vahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) and HuntleyMontgomery (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) are ranked 23rd in the nationafter holding the sixth spot in the preseason poll. Vahaly and Montgomerywere 4-2 as a doubles team in the fall after posting 16-9 record last year.They concluded the 1998-99 season ranked 18th nationally and are believedto be the first Virginia men’s doubles team to compete in the NCAAChampionship, where they lost in the first round. This fall, the tandemadvanced to the quarterfinals of both the ITA National Clay Court andReebok/ITA All-American Championship tournaments. In the Region IIrankings, Vahaly and Montgomery are the top ranked doubles team, whileWinter and Croker hold the second slot.

In the singles poll, Vahaly is ranked third in the country after holdingthe ninth spot in the preseason. He is also the second ranked player inRegion II, trailing Daniel Andersson of VCU, who is ranked secondnationally. Vahaly was rated as the 16th best collegiate player followingthe 1998-99 season and number one in Region II. He registered a 7-2 markwhile playing two tournaments in the fall of 1999. Vahaly’s best singlestournament was the Reebok/ITA All-American Tournament in Austin, Texas, inOctober. He advanced to the final before falling to Stanford’s K.J.Hippensteel, who is currently the top ranked collegiate player. In1998-99, Vahaly posted a 29-9 singles record with the 29 wins equaling theschool record. At the 1999 NCAA Championships, he advanced to the secondround of the individual singles competition and his first round win markedthe first time a Cavalier posted a win in the NCAA Championships since 1981when Geoff MacDonald advanced to the round of 32.

Montgomery jumped from 76th in the preseason national singles rankings to41st in the fall edition. He is currently the 11th ranked singles playerin Region II as well. Montgomery posted a 7-5 singles record this fall andadvanced to the finals of the consolation bracket in the 1999 Reebok/ITAAll-American Championship in Austin. Montgomery, who played number twosingles in the latter portion of the year, posted a 15-13 singles recordfor UVa in 1998-99.

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