Sept. 16, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - K.C. Griffin and David Henry, two freshman members of the U of M men's tennis squad, were crowned singles champions of their respective flights on Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Blue and Gray Invitational in Montgomery, Ala.

Griffin defeated Eddy Wang, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round of the brown flight. Wang was competing unattached. In the second round of competition, Griffin, a freshman from Millington, Tenn., upended Carlos Cardenas of North Alabama. The Lions of North Alabama finished last season ranked as the No. 30 in Division II.

Griffin's fellow freshman, Henry, won the green singles flight, defeating opponents from Columbus State and Clemson. The matches were the first of the two freshman's careers as Memphis Tigers.

In the blue flight on singles play, junior college transfer Jorge Vazquez, who is originally from La Coruna, Spain, defeated the pre-season No. 77 ranked singles player in the nation, Carlos Alvarez. Alvarez of Clemson was 18-14 last season. He primarily playedat the No. 1 singles spot for the Tigers last season.

The Memphis men's tennis team finished their weekend in Montgomery with an overall record of 27-15.

"I am extremely pleased with our performance in the first tournament of the year," said Head Coach Paul Goebel. "We have not competed against other opponents since April, so it was nice to get out there and play. The guys really showed that we are in shape and are competing hard to win every match."

The women's tennis team also saw some success at the Blue and Gray Invitational. Lindsey Wiseman, a sophomore from Memphis, won two of her singles matches in the blue singles flight. Wiseman defeated Estafania Balda, 6-1, 6-1. She lost her second match to Roxana Dondera of Columbus State, 6-4, 7-6(6). In Wiseman's consolation match she defeated Shannon Hart of Samford, 6-2, 6-2.

The Lady Tigers other three competitors each won one match apiece. Dara Toulch defeated Carly Adams of Birmingham Souther, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round of the white flight. Kristin Chamberlain, a senior from Memphis, won, 6-2, 7-5, over Brittany Cooper of Birmingham Southern. Amanda Brown, a junior from Whitby, Ontario, upended Mallory Waites of North Alabama, 7-5, 6-2.

"At time it was a really good tournament for us," said Head Coach Lee Taylor Walker. "Everybody got a singles win and everybody won a doubles match. We learned a lot from the matches we played. There were a lot of good teachable moments that I saw from our girls this weekend that we can build on in the upcoming tournaments."

The men's tennis team travels to the ULL Invitational in Lafayette, La., this weekend. The women's team will split up their squad this weekend. Marjorie Ondeck and Ashley Murdock will travel to the William & Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va. The rest of the team is set to compete at the Steve Baras Fall Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn.