Rea Named to New Zealand Davis Cup Squad

January 14, 2004 | Men's Tennis

Jan. 14, 2004

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - First-year New Zealand Davis Cup captain Bruce Derlin announced the nation's four-man 2004 roster Wednesday. Among the three Davis Cup rookies named to the squad was 21-year-old Tennessee senior Simon Rea.

"We're proud of Simon making the Davis Cup team," Tennessee head coach Michael Fancutt said. "We've had a history of UT players representing their countries and improving in that competition - as many as three players in one year - and we're looking forward to (freshman New Zealander Kiril Tcherveniachki) improving over time and joining Simon on that team in years to come."

Rea, a native of Auckland, will compete for the Vols this month before joining his Kiwi teammates in Invercargill, New Zealand, for a Feb. 6-8 tie vs. India.

The complete 2004 New Zealand Davis Cup team includes Rea, Daniel King-Turner, Matt Prentice, Mark Nielsen and Adam Thompson as the fifth non-playing team member. Derlin serves as a non-playing captain.