Sept. 21, 2000

PIKESVILLE, Md. -- Raul Munoz and Mike Murray of the Wake Forest men's tennis team will be participating in the opening leg of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Grand Slam, the T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships, this weekend at The Suburban Club of Baltimore County.

After defeating Charles Sevigny from Mississippi State, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, Raul Munoz was defeated by Mariano Pettigrosso of Arkansas-Little Rock in the qualifying round 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday. Munoz, a senior from Mexico City, Mexico, will focus his efforts on the doubles tournament that he is competing in with teammate Mike Murray. The Demon Deacon duo faces the fifth ranked pair from Tennessee, Crews and Handoyo.

Murray, a sophomore at Wake Forest, automatically qualified for the singles tournament and will take on Tiago Ruffoni of Auburn Thursday. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native led the Deacs last season with a 26-12 overall record, the most wins for a freshman in Wake Forest history. He was ranked 60th in the ITA preseason singles rankings.

This year's T. Rowe Price National Intercollegiate Clay Court Championships will consist of a 64-player singles and a 32-team doubles main draw for the men and a 32-player singles and 16-team doubles main draw for the women. The qualifying tournaments concluded Wednesday.

The Suburban Club of Baltimore County is located at 7600 Park Heights Ave., in Pikesville. Admission is free to the general public. The tournament can be followed at the ITA's official website, www.ITAtennis.com.