Virginia's Vahaly Earns Second Seed In NCAA Singles Championship
UVa star to play LSU's Tom Hand in first round.
UVA's Brian Vahaly earned the highest seed ever by a Cavalier, No.2, at the NCAA Individual Tournament

UVA's Brian Vahaly earned the highest seed ever by a Cavalier, No.2, at the NCAA Individual Tournament

May 23, 2000

ATHENS, Ga. - University of Virginia rising fourth-year Brian Vahaly (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) has been seeded second in the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship which begins Wednesday, May 24 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia. It is the highest NCAA Championship seeding ever for a Virginia tennis player. In addition to competing in the singles bracket, Vahaly will team with rising fourth-year Huntley Montgomery (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill) in the 32-team NCAA Doubles Championship. The NCAA Individual Championships will be contested May 24-28.

Vahaly, who was fourth in the May 3 WingspanBank.com rankings, opens the singles tournament by playing Tom Hand of LSU at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. The winner of that first round match will play the winner of the Matt Wright (Michigan) - Ramsey Smith (Duke) match in the second round on Thursday, May 25.

Vahaly, the 2000 ACC Player of the Year, has never played Hand in a collegiate match. In 1999-2000, Vahaly is 13-4 against players who received a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship. In two previous NCAA singles tournaments, Vahaly has posted a 1-2 record. Last year, he won his first round match before falling in the second round. He also became UVa's first men's tennis All-American in 1999.

In the NCAA Doubles Championship, Vahaly and Montgomery will play the number two seed, Stanford's Geoff Abrams and Alex Kim, in the first round. Vahaly and Montgomery are rated 26th in the WingspanBank.com rankings. The match will be played on Thursday, May 25. The time of the match has not been determined. In last year's NCAA doubles tournament, Vahaly and Montgomery lost to UCLA's Cook and Kramer 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.

Vahaly and Montgomery were both recently named All-ACC, it marked the third consecutive year Vahaly has garnered the award and the second time for Montgomery. Vahaly has posted a 32-4 singles record this year, including a 23-1 mark in dual matches. He was 8-0 in ACC play as well. The 32 singles victories establish a new Virginia school record. In doubles play, the tandem has registered an 18-8 record and was 6-2 in ACC matches this season.