Photo: Tennis on Campus champs bite down like Nadal

The USTA's Tennis on Campus Fall Invitational, held in Hilton Head, South Carolina, revealed some results that turned the tournament on its side and led to a couple fantastic photo shoots.

First at this co-ed club event, North Carolina State defeated defending champion Duke in decisive fashion by the count of 30-11 on Oct. 12. The two are Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rivals to boot. The NC State student-athletes celebrated as today's young guns are prone to do; see above photo.

That squad ultimately claimed third place overall in the event, edging their in-state foes from UNC–Chapel Hill, 25-24. That came after NC State fell to Florida in the semifinals, 30-14, and UNC's Tar Heels lost to Virginia, 23-20.

In the final on Oct. 13, Florida defeated Virginia for the title, winning 23-18. The Gator guys and gals, representing their school in this event for the first time, made like NC State did earlier and enjoyed the victory in style, copping Rafael Nadal's trophy-biting trope and teething on their winners' plaques:

Tennis on Campus features 35,000 collegiate athletes nationally raising a racket in year-round match play that ramps up to national championships. Their play comes at a level below varsity play but is more competitive than one might think. These are not your parents' intramurals. The USTA, World TeamTennis, and more organizations unite to make these events happen, and the sport and its participants are all the better for it. More than 600 U.S. campuses feature such teams now, and Tennis on Campus was conceived and then kick-started in 2000.

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