After the Washington men's tennis team lost in the first round of the NCAA team competition last weekend, the season looked to be over for the Huskies. Senior Alex Slovic, the UW's No. 1 singles player and the No. 64 player in the nation, was not selected for the main draw of the singles competition, but named as the sixth alternate.

No other singles players or doubles teams were selected for postseason competition, and after the disappointing loss to the University of Wisconsin, the Huskies began to move on and look to next season.

Things took an unexpected turn Monday, though, with the announcement that Slovic had gained entry to the main draw of the singles championships and will be participating in the postseason tournament for the second consecutive year. Slovic will face No. 22-ranked Ryan Rowe of Illinois in the first round today.

Slovic finished the season with a 22-11 record at No. 1 singles, including wins over some of the top-ranked players in the nation and a second-place finish in the Pac-10 singles championships. He was also named to the All-Pac-10 team for men's tennis last week, making him the third Husky to receive the honor four times. He is also only the second Washington men's tennis player to be named to the first team three times in his career, along with former teammate All-American Alex Vlaski.

In last year's NCAA singles championship, which was won by UCLA's Ben Kohlloeffel, Slovic was upset in the first round by Florida's Greg Oullette. Slovic is high on several win lists at the UW, holding the record for doubles victories and combined doubles and singles victories, and fourth all time for singles victories.

Reach reporter Risa Pavia at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.