University of Tennessee Athletics
Stodder Draws Rybakov to Start NCAA Singles
May 23, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. -- Tennessee sophomore Timo Stodder makes his national collegiate tournament debut Wednesday in the NCAA Singles Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Stodder is set to face 20th-ranked Alex Rybakov of TCU at 10 a.m.
A native of Berlin, Germany, Stodder is wrapping up a breakout spring season. He enters the tournament ranked 30th nationally with a 25-14 record. He earned first-team All-SEC honors at the end of the regular season.
Woodruff Era Begins: This tournament is notably the first event for Chris Woodruff as head coach of the Tennessee men's tennis program. He was promoted May 19 from associate head coach. Woodruff knows what it takes to win the NCAA title; he captured the Vols' only NCAA singles final in 1993 and has helped guide two players to the finals as a coach (John-Patrick Smith in 2008 and Rhyne Williams in 2011).
NCAA Success in Athens: Georgia has served as NCAA tennis host more often than most. It is not surprising, then, that some of the Vols' greatest NCAA moments have occurred at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Here are five memorable moments: 1. Mel Purcell and Rodney Harmon captured the Vols' first NCAA doubles title on court 2 in 1980; 2. On the same court, Woodruff hoisted the NCAA singles title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Georgia's own Wade McGuire; 3. Tennessee reached its second team championship in 2001; 4. The Vols reached their third team final in 2010, losing 4-2 to Southern California; and on court 3, Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese captured the NCAA doubles championship in 2014.
