ATHENS, Ga. – Despite forcing a decisive set, Radford’s
Ivan Salec (Oroslavje, Croatia/Oroslavje Secondary School) fell to No. 21 Saketh Myneni of Alabama, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, Wednesday in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA Singles Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus.
Ranked 79th in the most recent ITA Singles Rankings, Salec received the automatic bid by being the Big South’s highest ranked player.
A three-time all-conference selection, Salec finished the spring with a 16-7 overall record. The three-time Big South Player of the Week and 2008 Big South Freshman of the Year, entered the NCAA Tournament having won 16 of his last 18 matches, including 13 in straight sets.
Highlighting Salec’s campaign was his performance at the D'Novo ITA All-American (Tulsa, Okla.), where the junior recorded victories over the 4th, 12th, 39th, 50th and 73rd ranked players in the country.
This year marked the fifth straight season a Highlander has received an automatic selection to the NCAA Championships as Martin Sayer advanced the previous four, including a berth in the doubles championships with partner Zack Watson (Timberville, Va./Eastern Mennonite) a year ago.
Myneni will face the victor of No. 4 Guillermo Gomez (Georgia Tech) and No. 24 Moritz Baumann (Wisconsin) in the Round of 32, Thursday afternoon.