May 23, 2006

Tulsa, Okla. - Seventh-ranked Arnau Brugues will represent The University of Tulsa in the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships, which begins on Wednesday, May 24th at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California. Brugues will take on Virginia Tech's 50th-ranked Arvid Puranen in the first round. The two are set to face off at 4:30 p.m. (CST).

Brugues has registered a 17-2 mark this year, including a 9-1 record against ranked opponents. He has tallied impressive wins over Texas' 15th-ranked Travis Helgeson, Arkansas' 15th-ranked Adrians Zguns, Texas A&M's 16th-ranked Jerry Makowski, VCU's 19th-ranked Arnaud Lecloerec and Rice's 29th-ranked Robert Searle. He became the highest-ranked played in TU history when he received a No. 6 Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranking on March 21st. Brugues was selected as the Conference USA Men's Tennis Player of the Year, received all-conference fist-team honors and was selected as the ITA's National Player to Watch.

Puranen, a junior from Lulea, Sweden, has tallied a 20-14 mark this season, including a 14-10 duel record, and owns a career 47-39 singles record.