/
.
Virginia's Vahaly Selected To 2000 USA Tennis Collegiate Team
Story Links
May 31, 2000
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – University of Virginia rising fourth-year BrianVahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) has been named to the 2000 USATennis Collegiate Team as announced by the United States Tennis Association(USTA) and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The team consists ofthe top 12 American men’s and women’s collegiate players (six men andwomen).
In addition to Vahaly, the men’s USA Tennis Collegiate Team consists ofGeoff Abrams (Stanford), K.J. Hippensteel (Stanford), Alex Kim (Stanford),Jeff Morrison (Florida), and Ryan Sachire (Notre Dame). The team will becoached by Tim Cass of Texas A & M. The team serves as an elite trainingprogram for the top American collegiate tennis players to provide exposurefor team members to the professional circuit in a team orientedenvironment. The team is administered by the USTA and ITA. The 2000 men’steam begins play June 12 in Berkeley, California. They will also play infour additional tournaments and have the option to play in the August 9-13ITA National Summer Championships.
Vahaly recently concluded an outstanding junior season by advancing to thequarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. He was the second seed inthe tournament, the highest seed ever for a UVa tennis player. Vahaly’sentry into the quarterfinals is also the furthest a Virginia tennis playerhas advanced in the NCAAs since the current format was adopted in 1977.
In singles play in 1999-2000, Vahaly posted an impressive 35-5 record withhis 35 wins setting a school record for singles victories in a season.Vahaly’s loss to Stanford’s Alex Kim in the quarterfinals of the NCAAssnapped his 15-match winning streak. He was also 23-1 in dual matches anda perfect 8-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Vahaly is ranked fourthin the WingspanBank.com ratings released May 3 and has been ranked as highas third in 1999-2000. In doubles, Vahaly and partner Huntley Montgomerywere 18-9 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championship tosecond-seeded Geoff Abrams and Alex Kim of Stanford. The Cavalier duo wasranked 26th entering the NCAAs.
In addition to being named to the USA Tennis Collegiate Team, Vahaly hasearned several other awards for his play in 1999-2000. He garnered ITAAll-America honors for the second consecutive season and was selected asthe ACC Player of the Year. It marked the first time a Virginia playercaptured ACC Player of the Year honors. Vahaly was named All-ACC for thethird straight season as well. He was named the ITA Player to Watch inRegion II in late May. The ITA Player to Watch Award goes to a player whohas 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.