Hanlin falls in round of 16

Sophomore Matt Hanlin's tennis season began with a checklist of pretty lofty goals for himself and his team. It ended with most of them fulfilled.

First, he and the Washington men's tennis team made it to the third round of the NCAA championships for the first time ever. Following the Huskies' loss to UCLA, Hanlin prepared himself for the opportunity to compete in the singles tournament.

Originally designated as the first alternate for the 64-member individual tourney, Hanlin got in when a player dropped out due to injury. He won his first match against Rameez Junaid of Auburn, a fellow alternate, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Following the win, Hanlin met Erik Scharf of St. John'sin the round of 32.

"I didn't know much about him except that he was really consistent," Hanlin said. "It rained the day of the match so we had to move it indoors, which was lucky for me. My forehand was on and I was able to cause him to make errors."

The move indoors definitely worked for Hanlin, who beat Scharf in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. The win put Hanlin into the round of 16 and gave him an automatic all-American award, one of his goals at the beginning of the year.

In the round of 16, Hanlin faced Brian Vahaly of Virginia Saturday, but lost to him 1-6, 1-6. Even with his success through the tournament, Hanlin was disappointed with his final match.

"I knew who the guy was and he played extremely well," said Hanlin. "I came out a bit overanxious and you can't do that against a player so consistent. I wasn't very happy with that performance."

Hanlin won five of six matches in the postseason and is feeling good for his upcoming summer tournaments and his future as a Husky.

"I am obviously feeling pretty confident right now," said Hanlin. "I am going to be playing in tournaments every weekend back home in England, including the Wimbledon pre-qualifying tournament."