June 23, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE-- - Former University of Virginia tennis standout Brian Vahaly begins play at Wimbledon on Tuesday (June 25) against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia. The 22-year-old Vahaly is currently ranked 143rd in the world and Youzhny is ranked 58th.

Vahaly won two of three qualifying matches and then was selected in a draw to land a spot in the tournament when another player dropped out. He defeated Marco Chiudinelli (6-4, 6-7, 6-1) in the first round of qualifying and Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (1-6, 6-3, 7-5) in the second round before losing to Jean-Francois Bachelot in the third round.

"This is just an unbelievable accomplishment for Brian," said Virginia men's head tennis coach Brian Boland. "He is the only collegiate player from last year playing in Wimbledon this year. It's a great accomplishment for him and tremendous for the University of Virginia tennis program."

Since turning professional last year, Vahaly has defeated Michael Chang and won five Futures tournaments.

Vahaly completed his outstanding collegiate career at Virginia by earning All-America honors for the third time, advancing to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championship and compiling an overall record of 40-6 during the 2000-01 season. His 40 singles victories are a UVa single-season record and he advanced further in the NCAA Singles Championship than any player in UVa history. Vahaly, who was unseeded entering the 2001 NCAA singles competition, lost to third-seeded Matias Boeker of Georgia 6-2, 6-4 in the finals. He finished the season ranked fifth in the nation in singles in the final WingspanBank.com Men's Collegiate Tennis Rankings.

Vahaly was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and the ACC flight champion at #1 singles his last two years at Virginia, and he earned All-ACC honors four times. He lost just three ACC singles matches during his four years as a member of the UVa program and only one his final three seasons. He earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 1998.

The native of Atlanta, Ga, was also named the University of Virginia's Top Male Athlete as a senior in the spring of 2001.