College tennis: Freshmen Britton, Cecil win NCAA singles titles
Associated Press
COLLEGE STATION, Texas � Mississippi�s Devin Britton and fellow freshman Mallory Cecil from Duke won singles titles Monday at the NCAA tennis tournament Monday.
Britton fell behind early before defeating Ohio State senior Steven Moneke, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Britton broke to go up 4-2 in the decisive set and held serve at 30 to close out the victory.
The unseeded Britton became the first freshman to win the men�s individual title since Southern Cal�s Cecil Mamiit won it in 1999. The Jackson, Miss., native was also the first American to win it all since Stanford�s Alex Kim in 2000.
Cecil beat Miami junior Laura Vallverdu 7-5, 6-4, to add the singles crown to the team title Duke won on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Cecil cruised past the Hurricane�s N. 1 player, Julia Cohen, 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals. The finals took much longer against the Hurricanes� No. 2, with each set taking more than an hour on the hottest day of the 10-day tournament held at the campus of Texas A&M.