NCAA champs headline 2015 USTA Collegiate Team

June 16, 2015 09:24 AM

By Sally Milano, USTA.com

North Carolina sophomore Jamie Loeb and Virginia junior Ryan Shane can add another line to their already impressive resumes. The recently crowned NCAA singles champions have been named to the 2015 USTA Collegiate National Team, the high-level training program designed to help America’s premier college players assimilate to professional tennis in a team-oriented environment.

Loeb (pictured above) and Shane are two of the top American collegians named to the team, which also includes UCLA sophomore Mackenzie McDonald and Wake Forest Noah Rubin for the men and Florida freshman Brooke Austin, UCLA sophomore Jennifer Brady and Virginia junior Julia Elbaba for the women.

Both Rubin and Brady have announced that they plan to turn pro.

“It is of vital importance that college tennis remains a strong part of the professional tennis player pathway,” said USTA Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman. “Therefore, USTA Player Development will continue to provide America’s top college players with the resources to help them make the transition from college to successful pro careers.”

Several coaches will accompany the Collegiate National Team players as they play professional tournaments on the USTA Pro Circuit this summer. The men’s coaches include Oklahoma associate head coach Bo Hodge, Georgia Tech assistant coach Derek Schwandt and Christian Groh, personal coach of former world No. 2 Tommy Haas. The women’s coaches are Princeton head coach Laura Granville, Davidson head coach Sara Anundsen, TCU head coach Lee Taylor Walker and Columbia assistant coach Riza Zalameda.

This year’s team was open to freshmen through seniors who met at least one of the following criteria: NCAA singles champion; highest-ranked American in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s final singles rankings; ITA Rookie of the Year; ITA All-American singles champion; USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships singles champion; pro ranking inside the Top 600 (men) or Top 400 (women) from September through April.

"These players have excelled in college tennis," said Stephen Amritraj, USTA National Coach, Collegiate Tennis, "and USTA Player Development is proud to support them not only in their quest to be successful professionals but also with the belief that they will be future leaders of American tennis.” 

The USTA will also provide support, via grant money or other resources, to top American collegians not on the Collegiate National Team.

The collegiate team program began in 1996 and has helped guide several current or former top U.S. players on the pro tours, including John Isner (Georgia), James Blake (Harvard), Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford), Steve Johnson (USC), Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech) and Nicole Gibbs (Stanford).

 

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