Published: May 21, 2008 09:56 pm            

Edmond standouts give it one more shot

Edmond will be well represented as day two of the NCAA Individual Tennis Championships get underway today at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.

The national tournament will feature a pair of local prep stars in Tulsa junior Ross Cunningham, a standout at Edmond North, and Notre Dame senior Brook Buck, a four-time state champion at Oklahoma Christian School.

The NCAA Championships will serve as a last hurrah for Cunningham and longtime teammate Andy Connelly, a senior from Bishop McGuinness High School. The pair have enjoyed a long and successful career together that started when the two were just nine years old.

The pair earned a No. 2 ranking in the United State Tennis Association at 14 years old, and later earned the top spot in the 16 and under division. Both enjoyed great high school careers, that were shortened by injuries. Connelly was a two-time state champion with the Irish, while Cunningham won two titles with the Huskies, but missed his senior year due to an injury.

After graduation they turned down several offers from other Division I schools and signed with the Golden Hurricane. The pair posted a 7-5 record in the fall semester, but Cunningham saw his season cut short by injuries that forced him to red-shirt the second semester.

The duo went 8-7 record in the 2005-06 season, but did not play together last season. Cunningham and Diego Camacho finished the 2006-07 season with a 22-12 record and a berth to the NCAA Championships. Connelly meanwhile spent most of the year with Lucques Maasdorp, and finished with a 14-4 mark.

Cunningham and Connelly quickly found their groove, as they reunited last fall. The pair reached the semifinals of the 2007 Polo Ralph Lauren All-American and made it to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, but lost both times to the nation’s No. 1-ranked pair of Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey of Virginia.

The No. 27-ranked pair continued strong this spring, posting a 20-10 record on the year. They received an at-large bid to the double championship, after finishing the season as the second-highest ranked tandem in Conference USA.

The Golden Hurricane duo opens the tournament today against North Carolina State’s Nick Cavaday and Jay Weinacker.

Buck will also be making her final appearance in what has been an extraordinary collegiate career. Buck and teammate Kelcy Tefft will take the court in doubles play, after earning their second-straight trip to the national tournament.

The No. 3-ranked duo has been one of the best in school history. Buck and Tefft finished the season with a 35-5 mark and spent six weeks as the top ranked team. Including the ITA National Indoor Championship title this past fall.

Buck and Tefft open tournament play today against Pepperdine’s Bianca Dulgheru and Sylvia Kosakowski. Tefft, who’s brother Kyle is a standout basketball and tennis player at Oklahoma Christian, will compete in the singles competition.

The NCAA Tennis Championships continue through the weekend and wrap up with the finals on Monday.

        

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