University of Georgia Athletics
Road to the NCAAs: Tennis Championship History
May 14, 2007 | General
ATHENS, Ga. From May 17-28, the best collegiate tennis teams and student-athletes from across the country will be in Athens to showcase their talents at the University of Georgia’s tennis facilities in search of a national title. For the men, the NCAA will crown its 62nd champion. For the women, the 2007 champion will mark the 26th.
The NCAA has recognized a national champion in men’s tennis every year since 1946. It has done so in tournament format since 1977. The first Women’s NCAA Tennis Championships was held in 1982. The tournaments have undergone some changes since their inceptions, including moving from a 16-team field to the current 64-team field in 1999. The first two rounds are held at on-campus sites, followed by the Round of 16 and beyond at a designated NCAA Championship site.
In the inaugural men’s tournament held at the University of Georgia, Stanford defeated UCLA in the team portion while the Cardinal’s Matt Mitchell was the singles champion and Bruce Manson and Chris Lewis of Southern California claimed the doubles crown.
In the first women’s tournament, Stanford defeated UCLA in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Cardinal’s Alycia Mouton won the singles championship and the Bruins duo of Heather Ludloff and Lynn Lewis took the inaugural doubles honor.
The host Bulldogs have had several national champions of their own. The men’s team captured the title four times 1985, 1987, 1999, 2001 all in Athens. It has produced the singles champion four times (Mikael Pernfors in 1984 and 1985 and Matias Boeker in 2001 and 2002) and the doubles champion three times (Allen Miller and Ola Malmqvist in 1983, Boeker and Travis Parrott in 2001 and John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in 2005).
The women’s team claimed the national title in 1994 and 2000, the former coming in Athens. It boasts two singles champions as well in Lisa Spain (1984) and Angela Lettiere (1994).
For the first time ever, both the men’s and women’s titles were contested in the same location in 2006 on the campus of Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. Georgia will host both tournaments this year as well, the second year of the dual championships format. This format is set to continue, with Tulsa serving as the 2008 host and Texas A&M in 2009.
