Vahaly Registers Third NCAA Singles Championship Victory

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May 26, 2000

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Virginia rising fourth-year tennis player Brian Vahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) posted his third win of the NCAA Singles Championship to advance to the quarterfinals. Vahaly, the second seed, defeated 51st-ranked Guillermo Carter of Oregon 6-2, 6-1 Friday morning, 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.

After recording three-set victories in the first two rounds of the tournament, Vahaly registered a straight-set, 6-2, 6-1 win over Carter in the third round. In the quarterfinals, which will be played later Friday, Vahaly will face fifth-seeded Alex Kim of Stanford. Kim moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jeff Laski of Illinois. The time of the match has not been determined.

In the WingspanBank.com rankings released May 3, Vahaly was fourth and Kim was seventh. The two players met earlier this season with Kim winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the third round of the 2000 Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Dallas, Texas on February 4.

Vahaly, the 2000 ACC Player of the Year, is making his third appearance in the NCAAs. In 1998, he lost in the first round. Last year he advanced to the second round before being eliminated.

Here are Vahaly’s results thus far in 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, 6-1

(Number in parenthesis indicates ranking in May 3 WingspanBank.com poll)