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Bollettieri alums make history, sweep NCAA singles championships!

*BRADENTON, Fla. - *Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy/IMG Academies alums Devin Britton and Mallory Cecil both made history Monday in College Station, Texas, after winning the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s tennis singles championships, respectively.

Britton, an Ole Miss freshman who turned 18 on March 17, became the NCAA’s youngest-ever men’s tennis singles champion when he defeated Steven Moneke of Ohio State 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The win broke Moneke’s 22-match winning streak and earned Ole Miss the first men’s singles title in school history.

Cecil, a freshman at Duke, became the first women’s player in ACC history to win the national singles title and team title (Duke defeated University of California-Berkley last week) by defeating Laura Vallverdu of Miami 7-5, 6-4. Cecil never lost a set in advancing through the round starting with 64 players, despite playing 11 matches in 10 days during the team and individual tournaments. She’s the fourth woman in NCAA history to win the national team and individual title as a freshman.

“Devin and Mallory have both worked extremely hard to get where they are today,” said Nick Bollettieri, “and everyone at the Tennis Academy is thrilled. They not only represented their colleges well, but they are great role models for all tennis players.”

Britton and Cecil both enrolled at their respective schools in January. Before entering the college ranks, Britton and Cecil spent around five years living and training at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton.

“We were actually talking the night before the finals and saying how crazy it would be if we both won it,” Cecil said. “Two Bollettieri kids, who are both freshmen, as champions? That’s pretty awesome.”

Posted on May 26, 2009
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