May 26, 2000

ATHENS, GA. - North Carolina's Tripp Phillips saw his University of North Carolina men's tennis career end Friday afternoon as the unseeded senior from Charlotte, N.C. was defeated in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championship by top-seeded Jeff Morrison of the University of Florida.

Morrison downed Phillips 6-3, 6-4 to advance to Saturday's semifinals where he will meet fifth-seeded Alex Kim of Stanford who upset second-seeded Brian Vahaly of Virginia 6-3, 7-5 in another quarterfinal match on Friday afternoon. The other two quarterfinal matches were still on the court as of 4 p.m.

Phillips ended his senior year with a singles record of 25-6. In the NCAA tournament he posted three wins, including an upset of sixth-seeded Geoff Abrams of Stanford in the second round of the tournament. By reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament Phillips clinched first-team All-America status from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. He is the first Carolina player to qualify for All-America status since both David Caldwell and Brint Morrow were tapped in 1995.