June 8, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The No. 1 men's tennis tandem of James Spence and Sam Withell ended the year ranked No. 45 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings it was announced, Thursday. The duo was named to the C-USA All-Conference doubles team in May after going 12-4 at No. 1 doubles throughout the spring semester.

The honor caps a second consecutive year among the year-end national rankings for Spence, as he had been ranked while playing at the No. 1 doubles spot last season with former Tiger Scott Felsenthal. The New Zealand native capped his Tiger career with a 53-32 mark in doubles and a 43-40 mark in singles over his three-year Tiger career.

Withell capped his Tiger career with a 12-19 singles mark, having battled back and shoulder injuries throughout his short Tiger career. The Sydney, Australia, native will not return to the Tigers after battling through injuries again this past spring after missing significant time as a freshman due to injuries.

Ohio State's Scott Green and Ross Wilson ended the year as the top collegiate doubles team. That name may be familiar to Tiger fans as Spence and Alex Jago advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American, where they lost, 8-3, to the team of Green and Wilson. Spence and Jago would end the fall at the No. 8 ranked doubles team in the country before Jago was diagnosed with a season-ending wrist injury.

The Tigers will return three letterwinners for the upcoming 2006-07 season, including rising senior Garrison Pilant and rising sophomores Vinicius Craveiro and Tezar Putra. The Tigers inked three signees early in the fall and are hoping to announce more signees before the academic year begins in September.