Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

Final-
(1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt J.P. Smith (Tennessee) 63 62

Somi won his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship in just 61 minutes to became one of the greatest in collegiate tennis history.

Devvarman ends the season with a 44-1 singes record, tying the school record for wins in a season he set a year before. He is believed to be the first NCAA Singles Champion to finish the season with one or fewer losses since UCLA’s Jimmy Connors went undefeated in 1971. Since then, NCAA Champions have included Georgia’s Pernfors, Stanford’s John McEnroe, Stanford’s Tim Mayotte, and Texas’s Kevin Curren, all of whom went on to be ranked in the world top 20, but lost multiple times in college during their championship season.

With the victory, Devvarman becomes the 13th player in the 124-year history of the tournament to win consecutive titles, and just the fourth to do so in the past 50 years. He joins Georgia’s Mikael Pernfors (1984 and 1985) and Matias Boeker (2001 and 2002) to win consecutive NCAA Singles Championships since the current 64-player tournament format was adopted in 1977. Devvarman becomes the first player since USC’s Dennis Ralston (1963 and 1964) to win consecutive titles without winning at least one of them on his home courts. He also joins Arizona State’s Sargin Sargsian (1995) and UCLA’s Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006) as the only players to win the ITA National Indoor Singles Championship and NCAA Singles Championship in the same season. The win was also his 18th career NCAA Singles Tournament victory, extending his record for most in the current tournament format.

Devvarman ends his Cavalier career with a 158-27 career singles record, setting the school record for career victories. He was 88-6 over his final two seasons at Virginia. Devvarman concluded his career on a school record 36-match winning streak.

Somi's comments after title win -
“To end my career like this is very special. I wasn’t just playing for myself, I was playing for Virginia for the last time. I was playing for my teammates and my coaches too. The loss in the team tournament was so hard to take, but this was the best way to try to cheer everyone up a little bit.”
“There was a little bit of a different feel this year than last year. Last year there was a bigger crowd and it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 instead of No. 1 vs. an unseeded player. But that didn’t change how I prepared for the match. I was focused and played well. This one is probably more special because it came in my last match as a Cavalier.”

About the match...
"I knew coming into the match that JP was a good player who relied heavily on his serve. That was a key piece of his game and I knew that. For JP to find a way to beat me he had to serve unbelievable and play a really good return game. Before I went on the court the main thing that coach told me was find a way to hold your own serve. That's the most important thing. That's exactly what I did. I focused really hard on my serve and waited for my chances. JP played a loose game in the first set and I just rode the momentum into the second. Before I knew it I was up two breaks and serving for the match and that pretty much sums up the whole match."

On winning back-to-back NCAA singles titles...
"It's definitely a great feeling. This is the way pretty much anyone would like to end their college career. Two straight singles championships, and I've said it before that people just don't win it single handedly, nobody does. So before I take credit, I have to give credit to all the people behind the scenes that work with me all the time. My coaches, my strength coaches, my parents, my professors and my best friends who always support me. The list just goes on and on. My doctors my trainers, I could go on forever. The entire UVA athletic staff it's just unbelievable. Without that kind of support I don't think this kind of thing is possible. I would really like to thank them and tell them I'm really grateful for what they've given me the last four years."

Virginia's Head coach Brian Boland -
“Somdev came into this match really prepared and focused. As he has all week long, his serve really helped him today. He was able to win a lot of free points because of it. Early on, J.P. was serving well too. But as the match went along, he got fewer first serves in and Somdev was able to take advantage of it, hitting the ball deep and keeping J.P. off the net where he likes to play. It was on serve at 4-3 in the first when J.P. had a bit of a loose game and Somdev broke him. That was the turning point because it gave Somdev all the momentum and he never gave it up.”

“I can’t imagine any program having someone represent it better than Somdev Devvarman represented the University of Virginia. He is a better person than a tennis player and that is saying a lot because he is an incredible player. The guy loves this school. He bleeds orange and blue. His legacy with be with us forever. Having seen for four years how he handles himself and goes about his game, I know he will have a very successful career as a pro.”

On coaching a player like Somdev...
"Just listening to him these last 30 seconds I think sums it up about as well as it can. He's a special guy. He has incredible perspective and is mature beyond his years. The way he approaches his life and his tennis on a day- to-day basis is one thing that makes him so great. He has a certain calmness to him and a level of consistency that allows him to continue to move forward each match and play at a high level. Nobody prepares better than Somdev. He has great intelligence for how to play the game, but most importantly he always knows what his strengths and weaknesses are and plays within himself. You saw that again today. He has a great ability to do the things that he does best over and over, and continue to make other parts of his game more complete which he has done over the course of the last four years."

U can watch more photos on Tulsa site - http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/view.gal?id=29106