Tulsa junior Japie De Klerk became the 11th All-American in men's tennis program history by advancing to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 on Thursday at the Atkins Tennis Center.
De Klerk, ranked No. 42 in the country, rolled Alabama's Jarryd Botha, 6-3, 6-2, to march on to the Sweet 16. Botha entered the match ranked No. 49 in the country, and advanced to the Round of 32 after upsetting No. 7-ranked Emilo Gomez of USC on Wednesday.
"I played a solid match against a good friend and a fellow South African today," De Klerk said. "I was able to get the job done and am excited to move on to the next round of play."
"We're very proud of Japie earning All-America status," commented Head Coach Vince Westbrook. "He has had an up and down season, but has played great tennis as of late. He is not only a great player for this program, but a great student in the classroom."
De Klerk will face No. 62-ranked Alex Sarkissian of Pepperdine Friday. Sarkissian defeated No. 10-ranked Ryan Lipman of Vanderbilt, 6-3, 6-0, on Thursday.
Junior Clifford Marsland, ranked No. 56 in the country saw his season draw to a close as he fell to No. 37-ranked Soren Hess-Olessen of Texas, 6-3, 7-5. Marsland ends his season at 21-6 in singles competition with five wins against ranked opponents.
"Cliff had a fantastic season for us as one of our team leaders," Westbrook stated. "He's been a great role model for our younger players, and we look forward to having him and Japie back next year."
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