Wake Forest Athletics
Three Deacons Selected to NCAA Individual Championships
5/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 6, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest men's tennis players senior Steven Forman, freshman Tripper Carleton and junior Iain Atkinson have been selected to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships, held May 26-31 at the Magill Tennis Center in Athens, Ga. Forman and Carleton will compete in singles, and the team of Forman and Atkinson will play in the doubles competition.
Carleton and Atkinson will both be making their first NCAA Individual Championships appearances. Carleton is the first freshman in Wake Forest history to receive a bid to the NCAA singles tournament.
Forman will be competing in the NCAA singles tournament for the first time in his career. In 2007 and 2008 he partnered with Cory Parr ('09) to reach the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament. Forman will be looking to end his Wake Forest career with his second individual national championship after he won the 2008 ITA National Indoors doubles title while playing with Parr.
The Del Mar, Calif. native earned All-ACC honors for the third consecutive year and has anchored the Wake Forest lineup this season, posting an 18-5 dual match singles record while playing primarily at the top position. Forman is currently ranked No. 26 in the nation in singles and has recorded wins this season over No. 9 Robert Farah (USC) and No. 11 Michael Shabaz (Virginia). His 91 career singles victories rank him eighth in Wake Forest history.
The doubles team of Forman and Atkinson has also been impressive at the top of the lineup this season. The tandem are ranked No. 21 have an overall record of 22-9. In the fall, they advanced to the finals of the ITA Carolina Regional before falling to Duke's Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha who are currently the top-ranked doubles team in the country. Forman is the second-winningest Demon Deacon doubles player of all time with 100 victories, putting him behind his former partner Parr.
One of Wake Forest's best ever freshmen, 2010 All-ACC honoree Tripper Carleton joined the team in January and has made an immediate impact in the Demon Deacon lineup. His strong play caused him to shoot up the national rankings, and he was ranked as high as No. 20 only two months into his college career. He is currently ranked No. 50 and has defeated No. 26 Bruno Rosa (Rice) and No. 44 Jose Hernandez (UNC) this year. Carleton has shown that he can stand toe-to-toe with the best players in the country as he came up just short in tight three-setters against No. 1 John-Patrick Smith (Tennessee) and No. 2 Cunha (Duke).
Individuals from Atlantic Coast Conference teams will make up almost a quarter of the 64-player singles draw as 13 ACC players received bids to the competition. Wake Forest was one of four ACC schools with multiple players selected in singles. Forman and Atkinson are one of four ACC teams that will take part in the 32-team doubles tournament.
The Demon Deacons will also compete in the first round of the team championships against Columbia May 15 in Charlottesville, Va.
