Somdev Devvarman Reaches NCAA Singles Final
Story Links
May 28, 2006
STANFORD, Calif. – Virginia men’s tennis sophomore Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) will play for the 2006 NCAA Singles Championship on Monday after recording a win in the semifinals Sunday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center. Devvarman downed KC Corkery of Stanford 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to become just the second Cavalier to reach the final.
“Like I said yesterday, I was expecting a good match and KC came out today and played well,” said Devvarman. “It was fun. I didn’t expect the crowd to be so nice to me but they were awesome. KC and I played a good quality match.”
In the first set, Devvarman got off to a strong start, taking a 4-1 lead. He would hold that lead throughout the remainder of the opening set, which he would take 6-4. In the second set, Devvarman would once again go up by an early break. He held that advantage, serving at 4-3 in the set, when Corkery broke his serve to even the match. The players held serve in the next three games before Corkery broke Devvarman again in the final game to win the set 7-5.
In the final set, Devvarman opened strong by breaking Corkery, but Corkery broke back in the next game to even the set at 1-1. Devvarman would break Corkery again in the next game to take a 2-1 lead. Both players would hold serve in the next five games as Devvarman took a 5-3 lead. Then Devvarman broke Corkery’s serve to close out the set, and the match, 6-3.
“I felt like I was in control for the most part in the second set but I played a couple of loose points and he really took advantage of it,” added Devvarman. “I definitely felt like I was stronger today and that really paid off towards the end. I saw him struggling a little bit and I took advantage of that.”
“Somdev is playing great, his best tennis of the year,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I know he is going to go out and leave it all on the court tomorrow. He has a chance for a national title and I know he will enjoy being in that type of atmosphere.”
Devvarman is just the second Cavalier to reach the finals of the NCAA Tournament, joining Brian Vahaly, who reached the final in 2001. Devvarman will play top seeded Benjamin Kohlloeffel of UCLA in Monday’s final. Kohlloeffel defeated Erling Tveit of Mississippi 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal on Sunday. Time of the championship match is noon PDT (3:00 p.m. EDT).
NCAA Singles Championship
Semifinals – May 28, 2006
#1 Benjamin Kohlloeffel (UCLA) def. #22 Erling Tveit (Mississippi) 6-3, 6-1
#14 Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) def. #25 KC Corkery (Stanford) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Final – May 29, 2006
#14 Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs. #1 Benjamin Kohlloeffel (UCLA) – noon PDT