Northern Arizona's Tim Handel to Compete in NCAA Singles Championship
NCAA Division I Singles Qualifiers
INDIANAPOLIS (April 30, 2019) – Northern Arizona senior Tim Handel was one of 64 players named by the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Subcommittee to compete in the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship next month.
The singles and doubles competitions will be conducted May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., after the conclusion of the team championship.
Handel was one of 15 automatic qualifiers in the field. Automatic qualification into the Division I singles championship is awarded to any conference with one or more eligible singles players ranked in the ITA Top 125 for eligible/entered singles players. All singles players must have a minimum of 13 started singles matches, with six matches in the spring, in order to be selected as an automatic qualifier or an at-large selection.
The three-time All-Big Sky First Team honoree and two-time Big Sky MVP is ranked 81st in the latest Oracle/ITA Division I rankings.
Handel put together an impressive senior campaign in leading Northern Arizona to an undefeated record in Big Sky play (10-0) and the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid after claiming its first Big Sky Championship in 22 years.
The senior from Reutlingen, Germany is 21-1 on the season, carrying a 15-match win streak into Northern Arizona’s NCAA First Round matchup with No. 8 seed USC on Friday. Handel posted a 10-0 mark in Big Sky play this season to finish his career 38-2 against league opponents.
Handel becomes the first Big Sky player to appear in the NCAA Singles Championship since Montana State’s Federico Ueltschi in 2006. He is the 11th Big Sky player to compete in the event dating back to 1980.