RICHARDSON, Texas (March 19, 2003) - A team from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) finished second to a team from the California Institute of Technology in a U. S. Amateur Chess Tournament playoff conducted over the Internet among the winners of regional competitions held last month.

The UTD "Orange Team," which had bested a record 264 other teams to win the U.S. Amateur Team East Chess Tournament Feb. 17 in Parsippany, N. J., tied CalTech in two events, but lost, 2.5-1.5 in the third.

The UTD team was composed of Andrei Zaremba of Dearborn, Michigan, Dennis Rylander of Sweden, Ali Morshedi of Houston and Clemente Rendon of Brownsville, Texas.

On April 4-6, UTD, winner of the past two "Final Four" U.S. intercollegiate chess championships, will take part in the 2003 Final Four tournament in Miami. UTD will compete against teams from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Miami Dade Community College and the University of Chicago.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 13,000 students. The school's freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university's Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu/.