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Five Cavaliers Earn NCAA Individual Championship Bids
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia men’s tennis team had five individuals selected to compete in the 2011 NCAA Individual Championships, to be held May 25-30 at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University. Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.), Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.), Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.), Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) received selections to the 64-player singles field, while the teams of Courtney-Shabaz and Domijan-Jenkins were selected to the 32-team doubles field.
The five players in the singles field is a new tournament record for a 64-player draw. The last team to have five players in the NCAA Singles Championship field was UCLA in 1982, when the draw had 69 players. The two doubles teams selected for the tournament ties the Virginia school record, set in 2009.
The Cavaliers have two of the top three seeds in the singles championship, the first time a school has accomplished that feat since Pepperdine in 1988 (Robbie Weiss was No. 1 and Andrew Sznajder was No. 3).
Domijan is the No. 2 seed in the singles tournament, the highest seed by a freshman since Stanford’s Jonathan Stark was the No. 2 seed in 1990, and the highest seed by a Cavalier since Somdev Devvarman was the top seed in 2008. Domijan is 34-2 overall this season, including a perfect 24-0 in dual matches.
Shabaz is seeded No. 3 in this year’s field and is making his third consecutive NCAA singles appearance. A quarterfinalist last season, Shabaz has a 27-4 singles record this season.
Singh is also making his third NCAA singles appearance, as he and Shabaz join Brian Vahaly and Devvarman as the only Cavaliers to participate in at least three NCAA Singles Championships. He reached the semifinals in 2008 and the round of 16 last season. This year he has a 30-6 singles record and is currently ranked No. 34 nationally.
Courtney is making his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship appearance, after reaching the second round last year. This season he has a 21-5 record and is ranked No. 39 nationally.
Jenkins, who also reached the second round last season, is making his second appearance in the tournament. He is currently ranked No. 56 nationally and has a 27-5 singles record this season.
The team of Courtney and Shabaz, the reigning NCAA Doubles Champions, are the No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament after posting a 20-3 overall record. Shabaz, who won the 2009 NCAA Doubles Championship with Dominic Inglot, will be looking to become the first player to win three consecutive titles since USC’s Rafael Osuna in 1961-63.
The team of Domijan and Jenkins are making their first NCAA Doubles Championship appearance. Currently ranked No. 27 nationally, the duo posted a 17-2 record this season.
Virginia, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Team Championship, opens play May 13-14 as it hosts first and second action at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (29-0) meet Sacred Heart in the first round on May 13 at 1 p.m., with Wake Forest and VCU also competing in the Charlottesville Regional.