Brian Vahaly
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Brian Vahaly (born July 19, 1979 in Camden, New Jersey) is an American tennis player.
He began playing tennis at the age of two with his parents, Barry and Karen. As a junior, Brian Vahaly captured the Easter Bowl 18's title and reached the final of the Coffee Bowl in Costa Rica (losing to Nicolás Massú) in 1997. His best junior Grand Slam result was reaching the quarter final at Wimbledon that same year, where he finished 17th in the world junior rankings.
Vahaly proceeded to play four years of collegiate tennis at theUniversity of Virginia from 1998-2001, where he earned All-American honors three years and finished as the school's most successful player.
In 2001, Vahaly reached the singles final at the NCAA Championships, but lost to Matias Boeker of Georgia, ending a 20-match winning streak. He lost in the doubles semi-final with Huntley Montgomery, but finished as the country's number one player in doubles (34-8) and 5th in singles (40-6).
Vahaly became school's first tennis All-American in 1999 and during the previous season was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of Year after posting a 21-10 record as a freshman. In his last two seasons, he received ACC Player of Year honors and as a senior was named the Virginia Male Athlete of Year.
In 2003, Vahaly enjoyed a breakthrough season on the ATP circuit, winning a career high of 12 matches and reaching his first semi-final. He also debuted at the Australian Open and at Roland Garros, and made his first appearances at Tennis Masters Series tournaments.
In 2005, Vahaly returned to the courts playing World Team Tennis for the New York Buzz played in Schenectady, New York.
