June 6, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's and women's tennis teams both rank 15th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Fila regional rankings as announced by the governing body of collegiate tennis on Wednesday. The men's team is 15th in the Southeast Region after finishing the season 13-8, while the women are tied for 15th in the South Region having ended at 14-2.

UAB is one of four Conference USA schools to have both its men's and women's programs ranked regionally, joining Rice, Tulsa and SMU.

Head coach Derek Tarr's men's team played seven ranked opponents in 2007 and earned a 4-3 decision at No. 75 UC-Irvine in early April. Freshmen Alex Emery and Thomas Petrich each posted 13 singles victories in dual match play to pace the team, while fellow freshman Tim Bauer finished with 12 wins to rank third.

Bauer and junior Hanns Spangenberg teamed up to form UAB's strongest doubles pairing, going 12-5 overall, including a 10-2 mark at No. 2 doubles.

The women's team, guided by head coach Mert Ertunga, finished tied for 15th in the South Region poll after putting together an 11-match win streak during the season that ended with the team's season-ending loss to Southern Miss in the Conference USA Tournament.

The Blazers had one win over a ranked team this season, that coming against No. 70 Southern Miss to close out the regular season.

Senior Julia von Samson led the team with her 17-4 singles record after finishing her career on a 14-match win streak. Three players tied for second in wins with junior Gulsah Esen, junior Seden Soyalp and senior Samrin Tanzeem all earning 12 triumphs.

Conference USA sent three schools to the NCAA Tournament with both Tulsa programs earning league's automatic bids by winning the Conference USA Tournament, while Rice's men's squad was awarded an at-large bid into the event.