Oct. 3, 2005

TULSA, Okla. - Tiger men's tennis seniors Alex Jago and James Spence are participating in the doubles draw at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championship Qualifying tournament at the University of Tulsa, Monday. The duo will play the North Carolina State team of Nick Cavaday and Chris Welte in the Round of 64, Monday.

The Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships are the first of three championship events in college tennis (the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoors are the second and the NCAA Championships are the third).

This year's event is being hosted by fellow Conference USA member Tulsa for the first time at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, site of the 2004 and 2008 NCAA Championships. The draw includes 128 singles and 64 doubles entries in a qualifying tournament Oct. 3-5th, which feeds into the 64-player, 32-double team main draw which takes place Oct. 6-9.

An annual event since 1979, the All-American has been won in the past by such noted tennis professionals as Todd Martin, James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan.

The last Tiger men's tennis players to participate in the All-American were Ben Stapp and Lee Taylor Walker. Walker is now in his second season as the Tigers' assistant men's tennis coach, while Stapp continues to play tennis, most recently winning a doubles title with former Tiger teammate Joe Schmulian at the Copa Ciro Farrera in Comitan, Mexico back in August. Stapp and Walker capped that fall after the ITA All-American as the No. 12 ranked doubles team in the country, a first national doubles ranking for a Tiger tandem since the 70s.