The brackets for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles Championships were announced today, and four Big West players were selected to compete in the event that runs May 21-26 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
Long Beach State junior Hannah Grady, UC Irvine senior Victor Lamm, and the Cal Poly sophomore tandem of Brittany Blalock and Steffi Wong will represent the Big West in opening round matches on Wednesday, May 21.
Grady (Coventry, England) is making her second appearance at the NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championship. As a freshman in 2006, Grady lost to No. 1-ranked Audra Cohen of Miami (FL) in the first round. This time around, Grady faces William and Mary's Megan Moulton-Levy in first round action at 8:00 a.m. (PDT). Moulton-Levy is one of eight players seeded No. 9 through 16 in the 64-player bracket. The winner of that match meets either Marshall's Kellie Schmitt or Whitney McCray of Georgia Tech on Thursday, May 22 in the round of 32.
The three-time Big West Player of the Year, Grady owns a dual match record of 17-7 at No. 1 singles for the 49ers. She is ranked No. 82 in the country, while Moulton-Levy is No. 12.
Lamm (Paris, France) is the first player to represent UC Irvine in the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship since current Anteater head coach Trevor Kronemann and Richard Lubner each played in the event in 1990. Lamm, who is ranked No. 123 nationally, earned an automatic bid into the 64-player bracket. Any conference with a player ranked in the top 125 in the ITA rankings receives an automatic qualifier to the championship.
Lamm's first round opponent is Virginia Tech senior Albert Larregola. Their match begins at 1:00 p.m. (PDT). Larregola is ranked No. 45 nationally. The winner will take on either No. 9-ranked Denes Lukacs of Baylor or No. 36-ranked Adam Holmstrom of Denver on Thursday. Lamm enters with a 16-8 record in dual matches playing primarily in UCI's No. 2 singles position.
Blalock and Wong will participate in the 32-team NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles Championship. The Cal Poly duo, ranked No. 46 in the nation, are paired up against No. 19-ranked Vanja Corovic and Marija Milic of Texas in an opening round match on Thursday, May 22.
Blalock and Wong posted a 14-7 record at the No. 1 position for the Mustangs in the spring. A win will send them to the round of 16 against either Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge of Clemson or Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg of LSU on Friday.