June 6, 2008

• Courtesy of ITATennis.com (Click for full release)

SKILLMAN, N.J. - Georgia Tech's Amanda McDowell and Virginia's Somdev Devvarman have been named the 2008 Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) National Players of the Year, the ITA announced today. Southern California's Kaes Van't Hof and Robert Farah and UCLA's Riza Zalameda and Tracy Lin are the ITA National Doubles Teams of the Year.

McDowell is the first player in Georgia Tech history to be named the ITA National Women's Player of the Year. McDowell, a sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., captured the NCAA Singles title last month, becoming the first Yellow Jacket to earn an individual national championship. She was just a freshman when she helped Georgia Tech captured their first-ever NCAA team championship in any sport, when McDowell and her teammates won the title in 2007. This year, the Jackets scored back-to-back ITA National Team Indoor Championship titles, and spent most of the season in the top five of the national rankings. McDowell is no stranger to national championship pressure, as she qualified for the quarterfinals at ITA National Indoors and the semi-finals of the ITA All-American last fall. She set a school record for wins this season, as she went 45-8, hitting as high as No.2 in the national rankings.

Virginia's Devvarman became just the third player to repeat as ITA National Men's Player of the Year, joining Georgia's Matias Boeker (2001-02) and Baylor's Benedikt Dorsch (2004-05). The senior from Chennai, India was also named the 2008 Farnsworth/ITA National Senior Player of the Year. Devvarman, who repeated as NCAA Singles Champion in 2008, is a five-time All-America honoree, a Virginia record. With his singles and doubles All-America honors this season, he surpassed Brian Vahaly's four selections. This year, he became the first men's player since Northwestern's Marty Riessen (1962-64) to reach three straight NCAA singles finals. Devvarman ended the season with a 44-1 singles record and was ranked No. 1 nationally every week of the season. He also garnered a No. 2 ranking in doubles, and helped UVA to the Final Four and a No. 2 final team ranking.

Southern California's Van't Hof and Farah tallied a 41-3 record this year, en route to an NCAA doubles championship title and the No. 1 spot in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The duo finished the season on a 28-match win streak, claiming the Pac-10 Doubles title, and being named the Pac-10 Doubles Team of the Year. The Trojan pair was also one win away from another national title, as they advanced to the finals at ITA National Indoors. Van't Hof is a senior from Newport Beach, Calif., who won the Pac-10 Singles title, and was honored with the ITA/Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award, which goes to a men's player who displays sportsmanship, character, and excellent academics, as well as having had outstanding tennis playing accomplishments. Farah, a sophomore from Cali, Columbia, was named the ITA Player to Watch in the West region and earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles.

UCLA's Zalameda and Lin captured the NCAA doubles title last month and finished at No.1 in the ITA rankings. They went 24-3 this season, and reached the quarterfinals at one other national championship this fall, the Riviera/ITA All-American. Both seniors, Zalameda is from Los Angeles, Calif., and Lin is from Anaheim, Calif. The duo is the sixth pair from UCLA to win an NCAA doubles title, and was also named Pac-10 Doubles Team of the Year. Lin and Zalameda helped lead the Bruins to one of the best seasons in school history, capturing the program's first Pac-10 team title, and the school's first-ever NCAA Team Championship title. Zalameda, the Pac-10 Singles Champion, was also honored this year as the Pac-10 Player of the Year, the NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player, and the ITA Senior Player of the Year.

As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which is based in Skillman, N.J., administers several national and regional championship events, as well as the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit presented by the USTA, and the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA website is www.ITAtennis.com.