UVa Men's Doubles Team Loses in Semifinal Match at 2001 NCAA Tennis Championships

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May 27, 2001

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Virginia men’s tennis players Brian Vahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) and Huntley Montgomery (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) won their quarterfinal match in the doubles draw of the 2001 NCAA Championships before losing in the semifinals. Montgomery and Vahaly defeated Southern California’s Nick Rainey and Ryan Moore, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals and then fell to Southern Methodist’s Johan Brunstrom and Jon Wallmark, 6-1, 6-4, in the semifinals.

Montgomery and Vahaly avenged an 8-5 loss to Rainey and Moore on May 12 in their quarterfinal match. The top-seeded Virginia pair did not have enough to get by third-seeded Brunstrom and Wallmark, however.

With the loss, Vahaly and Montgomery finish the 2000-01 season with a 34-8 overall record. The duo advanced farther than any team in UVa history. Vahaly will play for the singles title on Monday (May 28) against Georgia’s Matias Boeker, who will also compete in the doubles final with his partner Travis Parrott. Vahaly was seeking to become the first NCAA singles and doubles champion since Stanford’s Bob Bryan in 1998. Now Boeker will have the opportunity to accomplish that feat.

SINGLES
First Round: Brian Vahaly (UVa) def. Nathan Overholser (Florida), 6-2, 6-1.Second Round: Brian Vahaly (UVa) def. Jean Simon (Texas), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Third Round: Brian Vahaly (UVa) def. Matt Hanlin (Washington), 6-1, 6-1.Quarterfinals: Brian Vahaly (UVa) def. Phil King (Duke), 6-2, 1-6, 6-0.
Semifinals: Brian Vahaly (UVa) def. Al Garland (Pepperdine), 6-4, 6-0.

DOUBLES
First Round: Montgomery/Vahaly (UVa) def. Caradima/Madden (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-4.Second Round: Montgomery/Vahaly (UVa) def. Hippensteel/Kim (Stanford), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Quarterfinals: Montgomery/Vahaly (UVa) def. Rainey/Moore (USC), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.Semifinals: Brunstrom/Wallmark (SMU) def. Montgomery/Vahaly (UVa), 6-1, 6-4.