University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennis Vols to be Represented at NCAA Singles/Doubles Championships
May 06, 2004 | Men's Tennis
May 6, 2004
Tennessee's men's tennis team will be represented in both the singles and doubles draws at the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships. Vols senior Simon Rea has earned a spot in the 64-player singles championships bracket and will also team with junior Damien Spizzo in the 32-team doubles tournament, the NCAA announced Thursday.
While playing exclusively out of UT's No. 1 singles position this season, Rea posted a spring dual-match record of 13-8 and defeated eight ranked opponents. He is currently ranked No. 34 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national singles rankings.
"It's a great honor to be selected to my second (NCAA) singles and doubles championship while playing for the University of Tennessee," Rea said. "It's a culmination of four years of hard work under a great coaching staff."
Tennessee's top doubles team of Rea and Spizzo played a vital role in the Vols' regular-season doubles prowess this spring (UT won the doubles point in 18 of 21 dual matches). The pair recorded an overall record of 10-4 on its way to first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors. Other highlights for the upperclassmen duo included an 8-4 record in SEC play and a daunting 6-1 mark against ranked teams. Rea and Spizzo currently boast an ITA doubles ranking of No. 9 in the nation.
Rea was Tennessee's lone representative in last year's singles tournament, in which he fell to Illinois' Brian Wilson (this year's No. 1 seed) in the round of 64. This year marks his second appearance at the doubles championships. As a sophomore in 2002, he and former Vols All-America Mario Toledo were eliminated in the first round.
The SEC led the nation with 13 competitors selected for this year's singles championships and eight tandems picked for the doubles tournament.
This year's individual championships take place May 26-31 at the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., following the conclusion of the team tournament. The singles and doubles draws will both be announced May 25.
