Oct. 22, 2006

HILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Men's Regional Championship came to a close Sunday for the Navy duo of Jason Hill (So., Marietta, Ga.) and Nate Nelms (So., St. Mary's, Ga.) as the Mids dropped an 8-3 decision in the round of 16.

Topping the Mids and moving on to Monday's quarterfinal round was the No. 3 seed at the tournament, Nic Brunner and Josh Raff of Cornell.

A key game in the match came with the unseeded Mids serving and trailing 3-4. Navy took a 40-15 lead in the game, but Cornell rallied to win the game on its way to the victory.

"Brunner and Raff were just better today," said Navy head coach John Officer. "They defeated the number seven team in the country last year, so they are a very, very good team.

"It was a great showing by Nate and Jason this weekend, especially considering this was the first time they were paired together. We feel we now have a legitimate number one doubles team, something we didn't have last year."

Navy will close its fall season this weekend by competing in a tournament at Cornell.