Nov. 6, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis junior Eric Quigley defeated two top-33 ranked players, including No. 13 Sanam Singh of Virginia in the semifinals, to advance to the singles consolation finals of USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., on Saturday.
Quigley, who is ranked eighth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason singles poll, started the day win an impressive straight-sets victory over No. 33 Ionut Beleleu of Oklahoma. Quigley broke Beleleu to take control of the match early and grab the first set 6-3. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., continued his momentum in the second set, claiming a 6-3 victory to take the match 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Quigley took on No. 13 Singh of Virginia, marking the fourth time that the two quality players have faced each other. Like his victory in the quarterfinals, Quigley started the match in style, jumping out early on Singh to gain a lead and take the first set 6-3. In the second set, both players went back-and-forth until Quigley won at 6-5 to the set 7-5 and the match 6-3, 7-5.
“This was a great win for Eric,” head coach Dennis Emery said. “Singh is No. 13 in the country and one of the toughest outs in college tennis. This was a very clean match by both players. Now, Eric has to get some rest and get back at it tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., against Dennis Nevolo, a very tough opponent.”
The win keeps Quigley undefeated in his collegiate career against the impressive Singh. The two players first met in the 2009 D’Novo All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., where Quigley scored a 6-1, 6-3 win and later defeated Singh 6-5, 6-4 in Kentucky’s dual-match upset victory over no. 2 Virginia. Earlier this season, Quigley defeated Singh in the 2010 All-American Championships quarterfinals 6-4, 6-1.
Quigley will be in action again Sunday, playing in the singles consolation finals against No. 26 Dennis Nevolo of Illinois at 10 a.m. ET. Live scores and updated draws for the tournament will be posted on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association website.
Quigley is 3-0 in his collegiate career against Nevolo, who advanced to the finals with a win over No. 1 seed Alex Domijan of Virginia and John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee – the No. 1-ranked player in the ITA preseason singles poll. Quigley and Nevolo meet three times last season, including twice in dual-match play. Quigley and Nevolo last met in the NCAA Singles Championship second round last season, with Quigley taking down Nevolo 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the round of 16.
Quigley is in the consolation bracket after falling to Blaz Rola of Ohio State in the singles main draw first round. Rola is ranked second in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason singles poll for freshman and newcomers and has an ATP ranking of 417. Quigley took the first set from the talented freshman in a tiebreaker 7-6, but then Rola responded with a second-set tiebreaker win to force a decisive third set. In the third, Rola jumped out to a 3-0 lead and didn’t look back from there, taking the match 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
The event features the nation’s top men’s and women’s collegiate tennis players. The championships feature a 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field for men and women, including champions from USTA/ITA Regional Championships held across the country during October, the USTA/ITA National Small College “Super Bowl” champions, the doubles champions and singles quarterfinalists from the D’Novo/ITA Men’s and Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships, as well as at-large and wild card selections made by the ITA National Tournament Committee.
The National Indoors Championship was inaugurated in 1978 for the men and 1984 for the women. Past champions and finalists include current professionals Benjamin Becker (Baylor), James Blake (Harvard), Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford), Somdev Devvarman (Virginia), Laura Granville (Stanford), John Isner (Georgia), and Lisa Raymond (Florida). Big Ten legends and Grand Slam finalists Todd Martin (Northwestern) and MaliVai Washington (Michigan) are also among the past champions.
USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
Schedule of Play
Sunday, Nov. 7 – 10 a.m. ET
Men’s and Women’s Doubles Finals
Men’s and Women’s Consolation Finals
Men’s and Women’s Singles Finals
