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May 7, 1997
CLEMSON'S RECORD--Clemson has a 19-10 record overall, and a 6-2 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers have won seven of the last nine matches played.
CLEMSON RECEIVES NCAA MEN'S TENNIS TOURNAMENT BID--Clemson will play in the 1997 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament as announced by the NCAA Wednesday afternoon.
The Tigers will play in the NCAA Region II Tournament at Georgia Tech's Bill Moore Tennis Center in Atlanta, GA on May 9-11. The winner of the Regional will advance to the finals at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA.
Eight teams received byes from NCAA Regional play and have already advance to the round of 16 in Los Angeles, CA. Eight regional tournaments will be held around the country on the weekend of May 9-11, completing the field of 16 that will play for the National Championship in Los Angeles May 17-20.
Individual selections (singles and doubles) will be announced Thursday.
Fourth-seeded Clemson will face fifth-seeded North Carolina on Friday, May 9, at 2:00 p.m. in the opening round. The Clemson/North Carolina winner will play the Duke/Georgia Tech winner on Saturday. Duke is seeded first, while Georgia Tech is seeded eighth. In other first round action at the NCAA Region II Tournament, South Carolina will play Virginia, and Florida State will play Virginia Commonwealth.
Clemson will enter the tournament with a 19-10 record overall. Clemson won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship this season with a 4-3 win over Duke in the championship match of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Tigers are ranked 20th nationally. Clemson is making their 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the tournament went to a dual team format in 1977.
CLEMSON PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN NCAA INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT--Clemson's Mitch Sprengelmeyer and Bruce Li will participate in the NCAA Men's Individual Tournament to be held May 21-25 at UCLA .
Sprengelmeyer will participate in the singles tournament and the duo of Sprengelmeyer and Li will play in the doubles tournament.
Clemson's Mitch Sprengelmeyer is ranked 12th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll. The doubles team of Mitch Sprengelmeyer and Bruce Li are ranked 23rd.
CLEMSON WINS ACC MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP--Bruce Li defeated Alberto Brause at number two singles 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in leading Clemson to a 4-3 upset win over top-seeded and 12th ranked Duke in the Championship match of the 39th Annual Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, GA Sunday afternoon.
Li jumped to an early 4-1 lead in the third and final set before Brause closed the gap to one game at 4-3 and 5-4. Li held serve and won 6-4 in the final set to clinch the championship for the Tigers and earn Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. The match was an upset win for Li as Brause is ranked 34th nationally in singles play, while Li is unranked.
This is the first ACC Championship for the Tigers since 1989. It is also the 11th ACC Championship for Clemson in the school's history. Duke had won the previous five ACC titles.
The match also featured another upset win for the Tigers at number one doubles as Li and Mitch Sprengelmeyer defeated sixth ranked Doug Root and Jordan Wile 8-3. Li and Sprengelmeyer are ranked 32nd nationally as a doubles team. Clemson's Li and Sprengelmeyer allowed the Tigers to clinch the doubles point, giving Clemson an early 1-0 lead in the match. Duke tied the score 3-3 and the deciding match came to number two singles.
TIGERS IN THE RANKINGS--Clemson is ranked 20th nationally according to the April 29, Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. Mitch Sprengelmeyer is ranked 12th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll. The doubles team of Mitch Sprengelmeyer and Bruce Li are ranked 23rd.
SPRENGELMEYER WINS 30th SINGLES MATCH--Clemson's Mitch Sprengelmeyer won his 30th singles match this season with a win over Mitch Koch of Navy. Sprengelmeyer has a overall singles record of 35-6. In dual competition (spring matches) he has a record of 21-4. The 35 wins is the most since Bruce Li finished with a 38-13 record in 1995. The last player to win 40 singles matches was Richard Matuszewski in 1986 with a 41-17 record.
SPRENGELMEYER IS THIRD ON SINGLE-SEASON WINNING PCT. LIST--Mitch Sprengelmeyer currently has a 35-6 record in singles matches for a .854 winning pct. The .854 mark is third on Clemson's list for best single-season winning pct. The .854 is the best in Clemson history for a senior. Jean Desdunes holds Clemson's record for the best singles winning pct. in a season as he had a 31-4 record in 1980 for a .886 mark.
SPRENGELMEYER HAS 114 SINGLES WINS IN HIS CAREER--Clemson's Mitch Sprengelmeyer has 114 singles wins in his career. The senior from Florence, is tied for 10th on Clemson's for most career singles wins. Sprengelmeyer also has 110 doubles victories. He is ninth on Clemson's list for most career doubles victories.
SPRENGELMEYER REACHES CENTURY MARK IN BOTH SINGLES AND DOUBLES VICTORIES--Mitch Sprengelmeyer has 114 singles wins and 110 doubles victories in his career. He is the 11th player in Clemson history to reach the century mark in both singles and doubles victories. He is also the first player since the 1989 season to reach the century mark in both singles and doubles play. Vince Van Gelderen had 107 singles victories and 100 doubles victories in his career (1986-89).
TIGER LEADERS--Mitch Sprengelmeyer leads the team with a 35-6 record in singles. He also leads the squad in doubles wins with a 27-10 record.
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