Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Ready For NCAA Tournament Action
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 11, 2006
Deacons Earn Sixth Straight NCAA Championship Bid
Wake Forest (15-10, 6-5 ACC) travel to Charlottesville, Va., for the NCAA Championships and will face 33rd-ranked Kentucky on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Snyder Tennis Center. A live scoreboard, "MatchTracker," will be available for all NCAA matches, courtesy of VirginiaSports.com.
The first round winner advances to play either seventh-ranked and ninth-seeded Virginia or Army on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
The Demon Deacons are in the tournament for the sixth straight year and the seventh time in 10 years under coach Jeff Zinn.
Wake Forest has never played Kentucky or Army on the tennis courts. The Deacons and the Cavaliers are familiar rivals, though, having met 44 times through the years. Virginia leads the series, 26-18, including a 6-1 victory earlier this year in Charlottesville.
The Deacons have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships in two of the past three years, but have never reached the round of 16.
In 2004, Wake Forest was shipped to Charlottesville for the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to Mississippi State, 4-2.
Ross Looking To Remain Undefeated In NCAA Play
When senior Brett Ross takes the court on Saturday, he will become one of three players in Wake Forest history to play in four straight NCAA tournaments. The native of Roswell, Ga., owns a perfect 4-0 record with wins against TCU, Texas Tech, Mississippi State and Brown.
Ross will leave Wake Forest as won of the most successful players in school history. Ross enters the weekend with 97 career singles victories, good for fourth all-time.
His 88 doubles victories are tied for second in school history, with Raul Munoz and three behind Wake Forest's career leader, Trent Brendon. Ross has been especially impressive in doubles as a senior, posting a 23-7 record. He is 14-1 in dual matches this season with Charles Sartor, including a 10-1 ACC mark.
Todd Paul: All-America Candidate
Ranked 18th nationally in singles, junior Todd Paul has posted a 26-12 record this season, playing against some of college tennis' best talent.
Paul is looking to become Wake Forest's second-ever singles All-American following Gilles Ameline in 1990.
This spring, he was named All-ACC for the third time in his career. He joins Derrick Spice as the only players in Wake Forest history to accomplish that feat.
Paul has been selected to the NCAA Singles Championships in Palo Alto, Calif., beginning Wednesday, May 24.
This spring, Paul has defeated eight nationally-ranked opponents including seventh-ranked Raian Luchici of North Carolina and 16th-ranked Arnaud Lecloerec of VCU.
In the fall, he won the back draw of the All-American Championships, defeating the 39th, 59th, 62nd and 33rd ranked players over the course of four days.
