May 5, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Seniors David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland’s journey to the top of the national stage has officially begun, again. The NCAA Division I Mens Tennis Subcommittee has selected the 32 doubles teams that will compete in the 2005 NCAA Division I Mens Tennis Championships and Stotland and Kowalski were automatic bids from the Mountain Region.
The doubles competition will be conducted May 25-30 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, following the conclusion of the team championship (May 21-24). Each region receives automatic entry for four singles players and two doubles teams.
The subcommittee has also announced the seedings for the singles and doubles competition. The seeds are based upon competition between September 7, 2004 and May 1, 2005. The 1-4 seeds are:
1. John Isner/Antonio Ruiz, Georgia
2. Sam Warburg/KC Corkery, Stanford
3. Benedikt Dorsch/Matija Zgaga, Baylor
4. Jesse Witten/Tigran Martirosyan, Kentucky
The 5-8 seeds are listed alphabetically by school:
Ken Skupski/Mark Growcott, LSU
Scott Green/Ross Wilson, Ohio State
Scott Doerner/Pedro Rico, Pepperdine
Ben Rogers/Ockie Oosthuizen, Tennessee
Stotland and Kowalski, who have been viewed as underdogs all year on the national level despite an appearance in the finals of the ICY HOT/ITA All-American Championships, have continued to succeed. They finished the regular season 23-8 overall and 10-3 in dual matches at No. 1. Against the top-25 ranked pairs by the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association), the dynamic duo went 5-4 overall and are ranked 14th themselves. Of the eight seeded teams above, Kowalski and Stotland have faced three, posting a 1-2 record. They beat second-seeded Warburg and Corkery, 8-5 in the fall at the ICY HOT/ITA All-American Championships. They lost, 9-7 to Green and Wilson in the final match of that tournament. The duo also fell 8-6 to Skupski and Growcott in the fall.
The bracket for the tournament will not be announced until the conclusion of the team tournament.