Oct. 8, 2006

TULSA, Okla. - Wake Forest senior All-American Todd Paul cruised past Notre Dame's Stephen Bass, 6-1, 6-2, to win the consolation bracket at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday. It marks the second straight year that Paul has won the consolation bracket at the prestigious event.

Paul held serve each time against Bass, the 21st-ranked player in college tennis.

"Today, I didn't get broken and I was hitting through my forehand better," Paul said. "I was a little off in my first few matches. My game isn't all together yet. I have things to work on when I get back."

"Todd had a rough start to the tournament," assistant coach Andrew Simpson said, "but got better and better as each match went along. He played his best match in the finals and peaked at the right time."

This is the first of three national championship events during the 2006-07 collegiate tennis season. Two others are the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November and the season-ending NCAA Championships in May in Athens, Ga.

The Deacons return to the court on October 18 in Chapel Hill, N.C., for the ITA Mideast Regional Championships.