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Vahaly Falls In Quarterfinals of NCAA Singles Championship
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May 26, 2000
ATHENS, Ga. – University of Virginia rising fourth-year tennis player Brian Vahaly’s (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) season came to an end with a 6-3, 7-5 loss to Stanford’s Alex Kim in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship Friday afternoon, May 26, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. Vahaly’s entry into the quarterfinals is the furthest a UVa tennis player has advanced in the NCAAs since the current format was adopted in 1977.
Vahaly, the second seed in the NCAAs and the fourth rated player in the WingspanBank.com rankings, had his streak of 15 consecutive wins snapped with the loss to fifth-seeded Kim in the quarterfinals. Vahaly advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating 51st-ranked Guillermo Carter of Oregon 6-2, 6-1 in the third round Friday morning.
Vahaly concludes an outstanding 1999-2000 season with a 35-5 singles record. His 35 singles wins this season are a school record. Two of his five losses have come against Kim. Vahaly, who has earned All-America honors in 2000, was recently named the ITA Player to Watch in Region II. The ITA Player to Watch Award goes to a player who has an outstanding season, has not yet won an ITA Grand Slam singles title, and is expected to perform at a high level the rest of his career.
Vahaly, the 2000 ACC Player of the Year, also participated in the NCAA Doubles Championship with Huntley Montgomery (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill). The duo lost to Stanford’s Geoff Abrams and Kim, who were seeded second, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 in the first round on Thursday, May 25.
Here are Vahaly’s results from the 2000 NCAA Singles Championship:
1st Round May 24 Vahaly defeated Tom Hand – LSU (20th) 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-22nd Round May 25 Vahaly defeated Ramsey Smith – Duke (34th) 6-2, 4-6, 6-33rd Round May 26 Vahaly defeated Guillermo Carter – Oregon (51st) 6-2, 6-1Quarterfinals May 26 Vahaly lost to Alex Kim* – Stanford (7th) 6-3, 7-5
* fifth seed in the NCAA Singles Championship(Number in parenthesis indicates ranking in May 3 WingspanBank.com poll)