Aug. 28, 2004

The University of Memphis men's tennis team kicked off its 2004-05 season with its annual Pro-Am fundraiser at the University of Memphis courts, Saturday. The tournament drew 20 doubles teams that competed in a four-round doubles draw. Senior Alex Bucewicz and doubles partner Worth Morgan defeated Tiger junior Alex Jago and his doubles partner, Bob Ridder, in a tiebreaker in the championship match to cap off the afternoon. The Pro-Am is the primary fundraiser for the men's tennis team's travel budget. The Tigers' 2004-05 tournament features 11 nationally-ranked opponents, including nine ranked opponents on the road. Memphis will face No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 16 Vanderbilt on the road and will also travel to Arizona to face three ranked opponents on their home courts. The Tigers' next major activity will be the ITA/Southeast Regional, which will be hosted by the University of Memphis at The Racquet Club of Memphis beginning Oct. 14th and running through Oct. 18th. Mississippi State's Romain Ambert won last year's single crown in that tournament and Georgia's Bo Hodge and John Isner won the doubles crown in Memphis last fall before falling in the NCAA Doubles Championship Finals over the spring. Memphis opens its fall schedule at the Middle Tennessee Classic, beginning Sept. 17th. It was also announced at the Pro-Am that Tiger Head Coach Phil Chamberlain, a Memphis alum, will step down from the head coaching spot in light of his recent promotion to Tournament Director for the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships held each February at The Racquet Club of Memphis. Chamberlain hopes to remain with the program in an administrative support role, but will leave the day-to-day operation of the team and the coaching to five-year assistant Paul Goebel.