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June 18, 1997
CLEMSON'S RECORD - Clemson finished the 1997 season with a 20-11 record overall and a 6-2 mark in the ACC. The Tigers finished second in the ACC regular season and won the ACC Tournament Championship.
ACC CHAMPIONS - Clemson won the 39th Annual ACC Men's Tennis Championship April 17-20 in Norcross, GA. Second seeded heading into the tournament, the Tigers knocked off Wake Forest in the first round, Florida State in the second, and defeated top seeded Duke in the finals. It was Clemson's 11th championship and its first since 1989. Ten of the eleven championships have come under Chuck Kriese. Bruce Li was named tournament MVP. He defeated Alberto Brause 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a thrilling singles match to give Clemson the ACC title.
SPRENGELMEYER REAPS HONORS - Mitch Sprengelmeyer won two prestigious national awards during the 1997 season. He won the ITA Senior Player-of-the-Year Award and the Van Nostrand Memorial Award. He is the first player ever to win both of these awards. The ITA Award is given to the player who has improved the most in their career. The Von Nostrand Award is given to the player who has the most potential as a professional. He was also named ACC Player of the Year. Sprengelmeyer finished the season with a 36-7 record in singles play with a 5-2 ACC record. He was named 1997 All-America for singles play. He was named a1996 doubles All-American.
ALL ACC - Mitch Sprengelmeyer and Bruce Li were both named to the All-ACC squad. For Sprengelmeyer it was the third of his career. He was also named in 1994 as a freshman, and in 1996. This was the second time in Li's career that he was named to the team. His previous honor was in his 1995 freshman season.
CLEMSON'S 1997 FLIGHT CHAMPIONS - Pablo Bellagamba was a flight champion at the number five slot while Ryan Bauer was the number six flight champion. Bellagamba had a 25-17 overall record, 8-3 in the ACC, while Bauer was 23-18 overall and 8-1 in the ACC.
FINAL RANKINGS - The team finished 19th in the final Rolex Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the highest team ranking since 1989. It was the 13th top 20 under Chuck Kriese. Mitch Sprengelmeyer finished as the 19th ranked singles player in the nation while Bruce Li finished 86th. The Bruce Li-Mitch Sprengelmeyer doubles team finished 23rd. Sprengelmeyer's individual ranking was the highest by a Tiger since John Sullivan's 12th ranking in 1989.
TIGERS IN THE NCAA's - The Men's tennis team participated in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. The Tigers advanced to the second round with a 4-0 victory over North Carolina, but were stopped by Duke 4-1. In addition to team participation, Mitch Sprengelmeyer competed in the singles tournament, losing in the first round to Middle Tennessee St.'s Anthony DeLuise 6-3, 7-6. The doubles team of Bruce Li and Mitch Sprengelmeyer were also defeated in the first round by Georgia's Hisham Hemeda and Eddie Jacques, 6-1, 6-4.
SPRENGELMEYER IN THE RECORD BOOKS - Mitch Sprengelmeyer finished the season with a 36-7 singles record. The .837 winning percentage ranks fourth on the Clemson all-time list for winning percentage in a season. Sprengelmeyer finished his career with 115 career singles victories, the tenth best mark in Clemson history. His 112 doubles victories place him at eighth on the all-time list, and he is one of 12 tennis players in Clemson history to exceed 100 doubles wins and 100 singles victories.
KRIESE AMONG CLEMSON'S BEST - Clemson coach Chuck Kriese is among the best coaches in Clemson history, regardless of sport, in terms of Top 25 seasons, ACC championships, and ACC Coach of the Year Awards. Kriese did all three this year. It was Kriese's 13th Top 25 season, his 10th ACC championship and his sixth ACC Coach of the Year Award. He is tied for second in Clemson history in ACC Coach of the Year Awards, is tied for third in ACC Championships, and tied for fourth in Top 25 finishes.
Top 25 Finishes I.M. Ibrahim, Soccer 19 Bob Pollock, Track 16 Bill Wilhelm, Baseball 16 Chuck Kriese, Tennis 13 Larry Penley, Golf 13 ACC Coach of the Year Bob Pollock, Track 12 Bob Boettner, Swimming 6 Chuck Kriese,Tennis 6 Wayne Coffman,Track 5 I.M. Ibrahim, Soccer 4 ACC Championships Bob Pollock, Track 12 Bill Wilhelm, Baseball 11 I.M. Ibrahim, Soccer 10 Chuck Kriese, Tennis 10
  
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