Sept. 11, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A goal of senior Amrit Narasimhan's in coming to the University of Memphis following two years at Tyler Junior College was to break in to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) team rankings and the singles and doubles rankings. Heading in to his second season in Memphis, Narasimhan can cross one of those off his list as the senior was ranked No. 98 in the country in singles in the first poll of the 2007-08 season. He is the first Tiger to be ranked among the top 125 collegiate tennis players since Alex Bucewicz ended the 2004-05 season the No. 124 ranked player in the country at the end of his four-year Tiger career.

Narasimhan was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year and was voted Second Team All-Conference USA by the league coaches following a junior season which saw him post a 12-5 mark in dual season singles play, including a 7-4 mark at No. 1 singles. He also teamed with Benedikt Fischer at No. 1 doubles, finishing the dual season with a mark of 6-10 at the top doubles spot.

In the history of the Memphis men's tennis program, three different individuals have earned national singles rankings from the ITA, the governing body of college tennis. Current Lady Tiger assistant coach Lee Taylor Walker was the first to earn an individual ranking, ranking as high as No. 48 in the country in the 2003-04 season. Bucewicz was the second Tiger to spend time in the national poll, making three appearances in the polls during his senior season.

Four different Tiger tandems have been nationally-ranked in doubles play, most recently the duo of James Spence and current Tiger and Lady Tiger assistant coach Alex Jago. The team of Spence and Jago had the program's highest-ever doubles ranking, beginning the year No. 10 in the county in 2006 following an outstanding fall season. A season-ending wrist injury cost Jago his final season of eligibility, while Spence went on to team with Sam Withell. That duo would recover and break back in to the rankings late in the same season, finishing as the No. 45 ranked team in the country at the end of the 2005-06 season.

With the national ranking, Narasimhan has also earned a berth in the ITA All-American Qualifying Draw, Oct. 1-3rd, at the University of Tulsa. The senior will try to win his way in to the main draw against the toughest singles competition in the country, as the ITA All-American is the first of four college championships on the ITA circuit of the year.