April 30, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -
University of Maryland tennis players Boris Fetbroyt and Andrew Orban will compete in the double's competition of next month's NCAA Championships, which takes place from May 21-26 in Tulsa, Okla.
Fetbroyt and Orban were one of 32 duos to receive a bid after ending the regular season ranked No. 8 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.
The pair of juniors was one of 19 duos to receive an at-large selection and will be seeded between No. 5 and 8 in the competition, thus assuring them of All-America status.
The last Maryland men's tennis player to earn All-America honors was John Lucas in 1976. No doubles team in school history has reached All-America status (one of top eight seeds in the NCAA Championships).
Fetbroyt, a native of Cherry Hill, N.J., and Orban, who hails from Fayetteville, N.C., are the first Terrapins to reach the NCAA Championships in over 20 years. John Zahurak made the singles draw in 1986.
"It's a great accomplishment for the program and for Boris and Andrew," Maryland Head Coach Jim Laitta said. "As a doubles team, they had the best year in the history of the program."
Fetbroyt and Orban posted a doubles record of 15-3 this season, including a 12-2 mark at the No. 1 position. They went 4-2 against nationally-ranked opponents and were also 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference which has four of the top eight seeded doubles duos in the tournament.
"They weren't ranked in the preseason, but we talked before the season," Laitta said. "I thought if they put in the work, they had a chance to be one of the top doubles teams in the country. They did and it paid off."
Fetbroyt and Orban also led the Terps to a national team ranking. They ended the regular season ranked No. 71 by the ITA. Freshman Amit Inbar was No. 95 in the ITA singles rankings, but missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAAs.
