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ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College senior Will Boe-Wiegaard defeated Middlebury College senior Brian Waldron in straight sets on Monday morning, 6-4, 6-3, to capture the singles championship in the 2006 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championships.

It is the first national title for Boe-Wiegaard (Georgetown, Conn.), a four-time All-America who was national runner-up in 2005.

Boe-Wiegaard becomes the first ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ man to win an NCAA championship since 2003. He is also ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ first NCAA champion in any sport outside of track and field.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet, but I know this is a dream come true,” Boe-Wiegaard said on his cellphone following his final collegiate victory. “I actually have mixed emotions, because I can’t believe it’s over.”

Boe-Wiegaard ends his senior season with a 25-6 record in singles play. He was unseeded in the 32-player Singles Championship when it began, but en route to the championship he defeated the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 8 seeds — Matt Seeberger of UC-Santa Clara, Waldron and MIT senior Evan Tindell, respectively — all of whom had beaten Boe-Wiegaard in their previous meetings, as had Middlebury senior Nate Edmunds, whom Boe-Wiegaard ousted in the semifinals.

To win the title, Boe-Wiegaard played five singles matches in a period of less than three days, along with two doubles matches with senior teammate Tristan Beach (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Boe-Wiegaard and Beach made it to the quarterfinals of the Doubles Championship.

Boe-Wiegaard first defeated Yoji Masuoka of Emory University, who had helped win the team championship for Emory the day before, 6-3, 6-3. “I made an adjustment and started feeling really good,” said Boe-Wiegaard of the match.

Next up on Saturday was Seeberger, the two-time defending national champion, who had beaten Boe-Wiegaard in the national final the year before. This time, Boe-Wiegaard dropped the first set before reclaiming his groove in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

“That whole day just flew by,” he said. “I was just really zoned in.”

That feeling continued on Sunday, though Boe-Wiegaard admits he was nervous about facing MIT’s Tindell, who had beaten him 6-3, 6-2 during the regular season. “I had lost to him pretty convincingly, and I know he had a boatload of confidence about facing me,” he said. Boe-Wiegaard cruised in the first set, 6-1, but fell behind in the second set 3-0. He then broke serve twice, regaining confidence en route to losing the second set 6-4, which he carried into a 6-3 win in the third set.

Boe-Wiegaard went on to play Middlebury’s Edmunds in the semifinals. The Middlebury senior had beaten Boe-Wiegaard in the ITA tournament semifinals in the fall. “He’s a really consistent player, so he’s very dangerous,” said Boe-Wiegaard. “He’s not going to make mistakes, so you can’t, either. But I felt so good, and I didn’t feel at any point that I would lose.” Boe-Wiegaard cruised into the finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Edmunds.

His Monday morning finals opponent, Waldron, is no fun to play against. “He can fire a 135-mph serve down your throat, or just crank forehands by you, left and right,” said Boe-Wiegaard. Plus, rising early in the morning for the biggest match of his life presented its own challenges. “Waking up got worse and worse every day. I was walking around without bending my knees this morning. But after that first game, you feel fine. The adrenaline just takes over.”

Boe-Wiegaard returned to his groove against Waldron in his 6-4, 6-3 victory. He won one game point by diving for a volley that dropped just over the net, though he never saw the ball land. “I heard the umpire say ‘Game, Boe-Wiegaard’, and I just said to myself, ‘Sweet.’

“I couldn’t imagine my college career ending so perfectly,” Boe-Wiegaard said. “I don’t even know how to feel, because it’s all new to me.”