May 25, 2007

Athens, Ga. - The University of Tulsa's Arnau Brugues took another step towards the ultimate goal of an NCAA National Championship with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Pepperdine's Andre Begemann on Friday at the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championship in Athens, Ga.

The No. 7 ranked Brugues, the tournament's No. 6 seed, moved to 31-6 on the season and 19-6 against ranked competition after downing the No. 16 ranked Begemann, who was a 9-16 seed in the tournament.

With the win, Brugues has advanced farther in the NCAA Championships than any other Tulsa player since the modern format was established in 1977.

He will now face the No. 2 seed in the tournament, second-ranked Somdev Devvarman in the quarterfinals. Devarman advanced after a 6-1, 6-2 win over Travis Helgeson of Georgia. Prior to Helgeson, he defeated Oklahoma State's Oleksandr Nedovyesov in the round of 32 and Sheeva Parbhu in the opening round.