May 27, 2008

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Devvarman Repeats as NCAA Singles Champion

TULSA, Okla. - Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) concluded his collegiate career Monday by winning his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-3, 6-2 win over J.P. Smith of Tennessee in the 2008 final at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. 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 becomes 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 joins 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 becomes 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 joins 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.

"There was a little bit of a different feel this year than last year," said Devvarman. "Last year there was a bigger crowd and it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 instead of No. 1 vs. an unseeded player. But that didn't change how I prepared for the match. I was focused and played well. This one is probably more special because it came in my last match as a Cavalier."