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April 20, 2000
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four University of Virginia men’s tennis players havebeen named 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Flight Champions fortheir regular season ACC play. Third-years Brian Vahaly (Atlanta, Ga./TheLovett School) and Brian Hunter (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) earned thehonor at #1 and #5 singles, respectively. Fourth-year John Winter(Richmond, Va./St. Christopher’s) and third-year Tommy Croker (Alexandria,Va./St. Stephens) have been selected as ACC Flight Champions at #2 doublesfor the second consecutive year. Two players in each of the six singlesflights and two tandems in each of the three doubles flights have beennamed ACC Flight Champions.
At #1 singles, UNC’s Tripp Phillips joins Vahaly as the flight champion.Vahaly has had a sensational 1999-2000 season. He is currently ranked asthe No. 5 singles player in the nation and sports a 30-4 singles record.Vahaly, a 1999 All-ACC pick, is 20-1 at #1 singles and is a perfect 8-0 inACC play this year. His 30 singles victories have established a new UVasingle season school record. Vahaly, who has been ranked as high as thirdin singles this year, advanced to the finals of the Reebok/ITA All-AmericanSingles Championship in October. In doubles play, Vahaly and third-yearHuntley Montgomery are ranked 23rd in the nation and have posted a 17-6overall record, including a 6-2 ACC mark.
Hunter and North Carolina’s Trystan Meniane are the ACC’s #5 singleschampions. It marks the third consecutive year that UVa has had a #5singles champion. Tommy Croker and John Winter earned the honor in 1999and 1998, respectively. Hunter is 14-14 on the year in singles play. Heis 9-8 overall at #5 and 4-4 in ACC matches. Hunter has notched a 14-13doubles record as well.
Winter and Croker repeat as the #2 doubles flight champions, and it is thethird straight year that a Virginia duo has been named the #2 doubleschampion. In 1998, Vahaly and Montgomery earned the honor. In 2000,Winter and Croker share the title with Duke’s Andres Pedroso and TedRueger. The Cavalier duo was 4-3 in ACC play this year after going 6-1 in1999. Winter and Croker have registered a 17-8 doubles record and are 11-6in the #2 slot. They won the ITA Regionals in November to earn anautomatic bid to the 16-team Rolex National Intercollegiate IndoorChampionships. The tandem lost to Stanford’s Geoff Abrams and Alex Kim,who are the top-ranked duo in the country, in the opening round. Winter isalso 15-11 in singles play, including a 9-9 mark at #3. Croker, the 1999flight #5 singles champion, is 12-11 in singles play this season. He is8-10 at #4, including a 4-3 ACC mark.
Virginia, 15-8 overall and 5-3 in the ACC, is currently 36th in theWingspanBank.Com Collegiate Tennis Rankings released April 19. TheCavaliers are the fourth seed for the ACCs and will play fifth-seeded and52nd-ranked Florida State on Friday, April 21 at 6:00 p.m. in thequarterfinals. The ACC Championship is being held April 20-23 at theRacquet Club of the South in Norcross, Ga.