Virginia Men's Tennis: All-Americans
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NCAA Champions and All-Americans
NCAA Champions
Somdev Devvarman
– 2007 NCAA Singles Champion
Somdev Devvarman became the first men’s tennis player in ACC history to win an NCAA Singles Championship, downing Georgia’s John Isner in the 2007 final at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. In one of the most dramatic finals in the 123-year history of the tournament, Devvarman scored a 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(2) win over the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
The first set was indicative of how close the match would be. Both second-seeded Devvarman and top-seeded Isner held in each of their six service games, with neither losing any more than two points in any game. With the first set on the line, Devvarman opened up an early 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker. Isner rallied to draw even, tying the breaker at 4-4. Devvarman won the next two points, to earn two set points. However, Isner would win the next three points to take a 7-6 lead and earn his own set point. Devvarman won the next two points on his serve to take an 8-7 lead for his third set point. Up 8-7, Devvarman took advantage of a second serve from Isner and hit a return winner past the Bulldog to take the opening set.
The second set began much like the first, with neither player in danger of losing his serve in the first six games. Serving at 3-3, Devvarman was broken by Isner, who took advantage of the first break point of the match to go up 4-3. The players held serve for the remainder of the set, as Isner forced a third and deciding set by taking the second, 6-4.
The final set featured more of the same from both players, as neither player could even force a deuce on the other’s serve. With the final set tied at 6-6, the national championship came down to a tiebreaker. At 1-1 in the tiebreaker, Devvarman made a difficult return of a big Isner serve that caught the Georgia player off guard as he returned it into the net. Devvarman used that momentum to win the next three points, to take a 5-1 lead at the changeover. After an Isner ace brought him to 5-2, Devvarman won the following point to give him four championship points at 6-2. On the first of those points, as he hit an ace up the middle to close out the 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(2) win.
Somdev Devvarman
– 2008 NCAA Singles Champion
Somdev Devvarman concluded his collegiate career by winning his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-3, 6-2 win over John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee in the 2008 final at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Devvarman needed barely an hour to win the match and complete a resume that ranks among the greatest in collegiate tennis history.
With the victory, Devvarman became the 13th player in the 124-year history of the tournament to win consecutive titles, and just the fourth to do so in the past 50 years. He joined Georgia’s Mikael Pernfors (1984 and 1985) and Matias Boeker (2001 and 2002) to win consecutive NCAA Singles Championships since the current 64-player tournament format was adopted in 1977. Devvarman became the first player since USC’s Dennis Ralston (1963 and 1964) to win consecutive titles without winning at least one of them on his home courts. He also joined Arizona State’s Sargin Sargsian (1995) and UCLA’s Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006) as the only players to win the ITA National Indoor Singles Championship and NCAA Singles Championship in the same season. The win was also his 18th career NCAA Singles Tournament victory, extending his record for most in the current tournament format.
The match against Smith, the first unseeded player to reach the final since Virginia’s Brian Vahaly in 2001, was close early in the first set. Neither player had a chance to break until Devvarman took advantage of the match’s first break point opportunity to take a 5-3 lead. He held serve in the ensuing game to win the first set 6-3.
In the second set, Devvarman’s momentum continued as he won a five-deuce game to break Smith’s serve in the first game of the set. After holding in his first service game, he broke Smith’s serve again to lead 3-0. He held that two-break advantage the remainder of the set and closed out the 6-3, 6-2 win.
Devvarman ended the season with a 44-1 singles record, tying the school record for wins in a season he set a year before. He was the first NCAA Singles Champion to finish the season with one or fewer losses since UCLA’s Jimmy Connors went undefeated in 1971. Since then, NCAA Champions have included Georgia’s Pernfors, Stanford’s John McEnroe, Stanford’s Tim Mayotte, and Texas’s Kevin Curren, all of whom went on to be ranked in the world top 20, but lost multiple times in college during their championship season.
Dominic Inglot & Michael Shabaz
– 2009 NCAA Doubles Champions
Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz became the first doubles team from the ACC to win the NCAA Doubles Championship, defeating No. 2 seed John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren of Tennessee 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the 2009 final at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
Inglot and Shabaz were the first unseeded team to win the title since Rajeev Ram and Brian Wilson of Illinois in 2003. Ranked No. 12 entering the tournament, the Cavalier duo was the lowest ranked team to take the title since Auburn’s Andrew Colombo and Mark Kovacs, ranked No. 27, won the championship in 2002, also in College Station.
In the first set, the Tennessee team jumped out to an early lead. After Sandgren held in the first game, the Volunteers rallied from a 40-0 hole to break Inglot’s serve to take a 2-0 lead. That proved to be the only time the Cavalier team was broken all day. The Virginia team had three break points on Sandgren’s serve when the Vol was serving for the first set at 5-3, but couldn’t take advantage and Tennessee held to win the opening set.
Just like in their first round match against the top seeded team from Ole Miss and their semifinal win over North Carolina, Inglot and Shabaz looked to rally after losing the first set. The second set featured strong serving from both sides as neither team faced a break point and just one game went to deuce. The set went to a tiebreaker with the Volunteers looking for a title and the Cavaliers looking for a decisive third set. The UVa team went up a mini-break a 2-1 when Smith’s volley went into the net. That was all the Cavalier duo needed as they won all the points on their serve and won set point off of Sandgren’s to take the tiebreaker 7-4.
Inglot and Shabaz took the momentum of the tiebreaker to take an early lead in the third set. With Sandgren serving at 1-1, the Cavalier team got three break points at 0-40. The Volunteers rebounded to win the next three points to get back to deuce, but the Cavaliers followed by winning the next two for their only break of the match and a 2-1 lead. The teams held serve over the next eight games to put the match on Shabaz’s racquet at 5-4. In the final game, he hit two aces and two service winners to hold at love and clinch the championship.
The title was the first doubles championship for the ACC. Inglot and Shabaz were the first ACC team to reach the final since the start of the modern NCAA Individual Championships in 1977.
Drew Courtney & Michael Shabaz
– 2010 NCAA Doubles Champions
The Virginia men’s tennis program won its fourth individual NCAA Championship as the doubles team of Michael Shabaz and Drew Courtney won the 2010 NCAA Doubles Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Center. The unseeded Cavalier duo, ranked No. 14 nationally entering the tournament, topped second-seeded John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren of Tennessee in the final, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
It is the second consecutive doubles title for Shabaz, who won the 2009 championship with Dominic Inglot, also defeating the Volunteer team of Smith and Sandgren in the final.
In this year’s final, the Cavalier team jumped out to a quick start, breaking Sandgren’s serve in the opening game. They held that advantage until Shabaz was broken at 5-4 when he was serving for the opening set. The set went to a tiebreaker, which the Tennessee duo won 7-4 to take the first set.
Courtney and Shabaz regrouped in the second set and went up a break when they broke Sandgren’s serve for a 3-1 lead. They held that advantage until they broke Sandgren’s serve again to close out the second set 6-2.
The Cavalier team took a break lead early in the final set when they broke Sandgren’s serve for the third consecutive time for a 3-1 lead. Each side held serve in the next four games to set up Courtney serving for the match at 5-3. He hit two service winners and two aces, including one on match point, to seal the victory.
Shabaz becomes the first player since Matt Lucena of California to win consecutive doubles titles. Lucena won the 1990 and 1991 titles, also accomplishing the feat by playing with different partners.
It is the fourth consecutive year that Virginia has won a NCAA individual championship. Somdev Devavrman won the singles title in 2007 and 2008 before Shabaz/Inglot and Shabaz/Courtney have won the doubles title the past two years. Virginia is the first school to win individual titles in four consecutive years since USC did so in 1961-64. All-Americans
Brian Vahaly
1999 Singles All-American
2000 Singles All-American
2001 Singles & Doubles All-American
Virginia’s first All-American, Brian Vahaly was the dominant player in the ACC during his career as a Cavalier.
The first three-time singles All-American in school history, Vahaly capped his career in 2001 by reaching the NCAA Singles Tournament final, falling to Matias Boeker of Georgia. The ACC Player of the Year in 2000 and 2001, Vahaly is the only Cavalier to earn the honor twice. He is also the one of two Virginia players to participate in four NCAA Singles Tournaments.
Ranked as high as No. 2 in the ITA Singles Rankings in his career, Vahaly finished his time at Virginia with almost every school record, including 40 singles wins in a season and 125 singles wins in his career.
In doubles, Vahaly teamed with Huntley Montgomery to earn a No. 1 doubles ranking in 2001, Virginia’s first ever No. 1 national ranking. The duo was the No. 1 seed in the 2001 NCAA Doubles Tournament and reached the semifinals. They ended the year ranked No. 1 nationally by the ITA.
Following his graduation, Vahaly had the most successful professional career of any Cavalier. He reached a high of a No. 57 world singles ranking in 2003, a time when he was the only player ranked in the top 100 of the ATP tour with a college degree. He played in all four Grand Slam tournaments, including reaching the second round of Wimbledon in 2003. That year, he also reached the semifinals of the Kroger St. Jude Tournament in Memphis (falling to Andy Roddick) and he defeated third ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero en route to the quarterfinals of his first Tennis Masters Series event, the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
Off the court, Vahaly was active during his professional career. In 2003, he started the Brian Vahaly Brighter Future Foundation to support youth and collegiate tennis along with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. That year he was featured in People magazine’s “25 Hottest Bachelors” issue.
Vahaly currently resides in his hometown of Atlanta and is working for UBS Financial Services.
Huntley Montgomery
2001 Doubles All-American
Huntley Montgomery was one of the finest doubles players to ever wear a Cavalier uniform during his career from 1998 to 2001.
Montgomery teamed with Brian Vahaly to earn a No. 1 doubles ranking in 2001, Virginia’s first ever No. 1 national ranking. The duo was the No. 1 seed in the 2001 NCAA Doubles Tournament and reached the semifinals. They ended the year ranked No. 1 nationally by the ITA.
Montgomery and Vahaly made three apperances in the NCAA Doubles Tournament and posted 95 wins a team.
Following his graduation in 2001, Montgomery played professionally for four years, reaching a career-high No. 98 world ranking in doubles. After retiring from professional tennis in 2005, Montgomery served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Cavaliers during the 2005-06 season.
Montgomery recently earned his graduate degree from the Darden School of Business at UVa.
Doug Stewart
2004 Singles All-American
2005 Singles All-American
A mainstay at the top of the Cavaliers’ lineup as they won their first ACC Championships, Doug Stewart posted an impressive resume in his time at Virginia.
Stewart is one of four Cavaliers to be a multiple time All-American, earning the honors in 2004 and 2005. Ranked as high as No. 5 nationally during his career in the ITA Singles rankings, he participated in three NCAA Singles Tournaments. Stewart was seeded in the 2004 Tournament and reached the second round. He also participated in the NCAA Doubles Tournament as a first-year, as he was named both the ACC and ITA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year.
Stewart graduated in 2006 and played professionally for a year. He currently lives in New York and works for the investment firm of Brown Brothers Harriman.
Somdev Devvarman
2006 Singles All-American
2007 Singles & Doubles All-American
2008 Singles & Doubles All-American
The most accomplished player in ACC history, Somdev Devvarman capped his historic Cavalier career in 2008. A school record five-time All-American, Devvarman was also a two-time NCAA Singles Champion and a two-time ITA National Player of the Year.
As a senior in 2007-08, Devvarman dominated collegiate tennis. He posted a 44-1 singles record, won his second consecutive NCAA Singles title, was ranked No. 1 in the ITA Singles Rankings every week of the season and earned All-American honors in singles for the third time. In doubles, Devvarman and Treat Huey were ranked No. 1 in the ITA Doubles Rankings for the entire regular season and earned All-American honors for the second time. The ITA honored Devvarman as the National Player of the Year and the National Senior Player of the Year.
In 2006-07, Devvarman became the first player from the ACC to win the NCAA Singles Championship and ended the year ranked No. 1 in the ITA Rankings. He was named the ITA National Player of the Year while also winning the organization’s Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. Devvarman finished the year with a school record 44 singles wins and earned All-American honors for the second time in singles and for the first time in doubles as he teamed with Huey to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and ended the year ranked No. 2 by the ITA. In 2005-06 Devvarman earned All-American status for the first time as he reached the final of the NCAA Singles Tournament, falling to UCLA’s Benjamin Kohlloeffel.
Devvarman ended his career with a school record 158 singles wins. He also holds the NCAA record with 18 career wins in the NCAA Singles tournament.
Devvarman turned pro in June of 2008 and has had a meteoric rise up the world rankings. He began his career by winning his first four professional tournaments (two futures, one challenger, and one exhibition tournament). In 2009, he reached the final of the ATP Chennai Open, the second round of the US Open and helped India advance to the World Group of the Davis Cup. He reached a career-high singles ranking of 103 in June.
Rylan Rizza
2006 Doubles All-American
A key member of Virginia’s first two ACC Championship squads in 2004 and 2005, Rylan Rizza established himself as one of the best players in school history.
Rizza earned All-American honors in 2006 as he teamed with Nick Meythaler to form a top-10 doubles team. The duo were 16-5 during the senior season and were a No. 5-8 seed for the 2006 NCAA Tournament. They reached the second round of the tournament and finished the year ranked No. 9 in the ITA Doubles Rankings.
Meythaler and Rizza were also selected for the NCAA Doubles Tournament in both 2004 and 2005, as they are one of two Cavalier doubles teams to participate in three NCAA Tournaments. In singles, Rizza had 123 career wins, as he was the second player in school history to reach the 100 victory mark.
Rizza is currently playing professionally. In 2008, he reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 870. In 2009, he reached a career-high of 217 in the ATP doubles rankings. He has won 10 doubles titles of the Futures Tour.
Nick Meythaler
2006 Doubles All-American
One of the best doubles players in school history, Nick Meythaler was a key part to Virginia’s rise to ACC and national promenance.
Meythaler earned All-American honors in 2006 as he teamed with Rylan Rizza to form a top-10 doubles team. The duo were 16-5 during their senior season and were a No. 5-8 seed for the 2006 NCAA Tournament. They reached the second round of the tournament and finished the year ranked No. 9 in the ITA Doubles Rankings.
Meythaler and Rizza were also selected for the NCAA Doubles Tournament in both 2004 and 2005, as they are one of two Cavalier doubles teams to participate in three NCAA Tournaments.
Meythaler graduated from Virginia in 2006 and now lives in New York where he works for Lehman Brothers, an investment company.
Treat Huey
2007 Doubles All-American
2008 Doubles All-American
One of the best players in school history, Treat Huey concluded his career in 2008 as the Cavaliers’ all-time leader in doubles wins with 134 in his career.
Huey joins doubles partner Somdev Devvarman as the only two-time doubles All-Americans in school history, garnering the honors in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Devvarman and Huey were ranked No. 1 in the ITA Doubles Rankings for the entire regular season and won the ITA All-American and ITA National Indoor doubles titles. Huey tied his school record of 41 doubles wins in a season, while also participating in the NCAA Singles Championship for the second consecutive season.
In 2007, Huey garnered All-American honors for the first time as he and Devvarman reached the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament. The duo ended the season ranked No. 2 in the ITA Rankings. Huey ended the season with 41 doubles wins, the most in school history for a season. In singles, Huey finished the year ranked No. 26 nationally and participated in his first NCAA Singles Tournament.
In addition to his 134 career doubles wins, Huey also holds the school records for career dual match singles wins (97) and career ACC singles wins (36).
Huey is currently playing professionally and has had enormous success in doubles. He has won two doubles titles on the Challenger Tour and has eight titles on the Futures Tour. He has represented the Phillippines in Davis Cup and reached a career-high doubles ranking of 129 in June.
Dominic Inglot
2008 Singles All-American
2009 Singles and Doubles All-American
A key player on Virginia’s 2008 and 2009 ITA National Team Indoor Championship teams, Dominic Inglot was a three-time All-American.
In 2009, he joined Brian Vahaly and Somdev Devvarman as the only Cavaliers to earn singles and doubles All-American accolades in the same season. He teamed with Michael Shabaz to win the 2009 NCAA Doubles Championship, the first team from the ACC to accomplish the feat. Inglot also reached the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship, before falling in three sets to eventual champion Devin Britton of Ole Miss.
Inglot was named an 2008 All-American after being a 9-16 seed for the 2008 NCAA Singles Championship. He became just the fourth Cavalier to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament, joining Somdev Devvarman, Doug Stewart, and Brian Vahaly.
Since turning pro in 2009, Inglot has win seven doubles titles on the Futures Tour and climbed to a career-high doubles ranking of 203 in June.
Michael Shabaz
2009 Doubles All-American
2010 Singles and Doubles All-American
One of three All-Americans on the Cavaliers’ current roster, Michael Shabaz has won the NCAA Doubles Championship in each of the past two seasons.
Shabaz and Dominic Inglot made history in 2009, becoming the first team from the ACC to win the doubles title. They were unseeded heading into the tournament and upset the No. 1 ranked team in the first round and the No. 2 ranked team in the final. In singles, Shabaz made his first career NCAA Championship appearance in 2009.
Shabaz repeated as NCAA Doubles Champion in 2010, teaming with Drew Courtney. The duo were unseeded, but beat four of the top five ranked teams en route to the title. Shabaz became the first player since Matt Lucena of California to win consecutive doubles titles. Lucena won the 1990 and 1991 titles, also accomplishing the feat by playing with different partners.
In 2010, Shabaz also reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship.
In 2009, Shabaz received a wild card to play in the US Open, teaming with pro Wayne Odesnik.
Sanam Singh
2009 Singles All-American
2010 Singles All-American
One of three All-Americans on the Cavaliers’ current roster, Sanam Singh has earned honors in singles in each ot the past two seasons.
In 2009, Singh joined Brian Vahaly and Somdev Devvarman as the only Cavaliers to reach the NCAA Singles semifinals. His 42 singles wins in 2009 rank third in school history. Singh and Houston Barrick also competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship.
In 2010, Singh reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championship. Earlier in the year he became the second Cavalier (Devvarman) to be ranked No. 1 nationally in the ITA singles rankings.
Drew Courtney
2010 Doubles All-American
One of three All-Americans on the Cavaliers’ current roster, Drew Courtney earned honors for the first time in 2010 when he teamed with Michael Shabaz to win the NCAA Doubles Championship.
The duo was unseeded, but beat four of the top five ranked teams en route to the title. Courtney also made his NCAA Singles Championship debut in 2010, reaching the second round. He ended the season with 42 singles wins, tied for third most all-time in school history.