UNC Asheville's Henry Patten Selected for NCAA Singles Championship
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Two-time Big South Player of the Year Henry Patten of UNC Asheville men's tennis has been selected to the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championships.
The NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Subcommittee unveiled the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams that will compete in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.
"Obviously, we are delighted for Henry," UNC Asheville men's tennis head coach Tom Hand said. "It's huge achievement for him, and a massive boost for our program. As far as I know, he's the first person in the history of the program to make it to the NCAA singles event. We are delighted for him, and this will serve as an exciting benchmark for everybody that comes after him to chase. We are obviously very proud of him and the work that he has put in, and also I think it demonstrates the direction that our program is heading. We continue to make strides in the right direction and this is obviously demonstrative of where we are heading. I couldn't be happier for him."
Patten is ranked 70th nationally in the latest Oracle/ITA NCAA Division I Collegiate Singles Rankings.
The Manningtree, Essex, United Kingdom, native was recently named the Big South Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
After battling injuries early in the spring of 2018, Patten finished the regular season at 11-3 overall. His winning percentage of .786 was the best among those who played 10 or matches at No. 1 singles in the Big South.
Patten ended league play 5-1 at No. 1 singles.
Patten enters the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championships 12-3 overall in singles. He is currently in the midst of a nine-match winning streak.
In addition to his honoring as Big South Player of the Year, Patten was also chosen first-team in singles and doubles. A double major in Management and Economics with a 3.566 grade-point average, Patten was also chosen to the Big South All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season.
Patten is just the sixth player in Big South men's tennis history since 2006 to earn a spot in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championships.
The singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C., after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 18-22. Wake Forest University will serve as host.
All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a 7-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches. In doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.
Automatic qualification into the Division I singles championships is awarded to any conference with one or more eligible singles players ranked in the ITA Top 125 for eligible/entered singles players. For conferences with more than one singles player within the ITA Top 125 eligible/entered singles players, the subcommittee applies the NCAA selection criteria to determine which student-athlete is the automatic qualifier from those conferences. All singles players must have a minimum of 13 completed singles matches, with six matches in the spring, in order to be selected as an automatic qualifier or an at-large selection.