Twenty-four top Americans named to 2009 USTA Summer Collegiate Team

March 10, 2009 03:45 PM

Twenty-four of the nation's top men's and women's collegiate tennis players have been named to the 2009 USTA Summer Collegiate Team, administered by the USTA and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

The USTA Summer Collegiate Team is an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players that began in 1996 and is funded by the USTA. It is designed to provide college players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the summer months.

In addition to competing on the USTA Pro Circuit, USTA Player Development will host two Pro Tour Transition camps – one for the men, one for the women – for the selected players. The men’s camp will be held June 20-23 in Boca Raton, Fla., while the women’s camp will be conducted July 6-9 in Atlanta.

The following players have been selected to this year’s team:

Men’s Team
Jean-Yves Aubone, Florida State (JR, Miami)
Devin Britton, Mississippi (FR, Jackson, Miss.)
Steve Johnson, Southern California (FR, Orange, Calif.)
Roy Kalmanovich, Illinois (SO, Framingham, Mass.)
Bradley Klahn, Stanford (FR, Poway, Calif.)
Bryan Koniecko, Ohio State (SR, Syosset, N.Y.)
Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M (SO, Brandon, Fla.)
Justin Kronauge, Ohio State (JR, Dayton, Ohio)
Cory Parr, Wake Forest (SR, Jericho, N.Y.)
Conor Pollack, Texas A&M (SR, San Antonio)
Blake Strode, Arkansas (SR, St. Louis)
Michael Venus, Louisiana State (SR, Orlando, Fla.)

Women’s Team
Hilary Barte, Stanford (SO, Chatsworth, Calif.)
Lindsay Burdette, Stanford (JR, Jackson, Ga.)
Mallory Cecil, Duke (FR, Spartanburg, S.C.)
Julia Cohen, Miami (SO, Philadelphia)
Irina Falconi, Georgia Tech (FR, Jupiter, Fla.)
Amanda Fink, Southern California (SR, Calabasas, Calif.)
Amanda McDowell, Georgia Tech (JR, Atlanta)
Kelcy McKenna, Arizona State (SO, North Bend, Ore.)
Maria Sanchez, Southern California (SO, Modesto, Calif.)
Yasmin Schnack, UCLA (JR, Sacramento, Calif.)
Kelcy Tefft, Notre Dame (SR, Enid, Okla.)
Caitlin Whoriskey, Tennessee (JR, East Sandwich, Mass.)

With both the men’s and women’s teams increasing from six to 12 players, each team will this year have two coaches. Amanda Augustus, Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at the University of California and Kathy Sell, Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at Princeton University, will coach the women’s team, while Chris Brandi, Assistant Coach of Men’s Tennis at Wake Forest University, and Tony Bresky, Associate Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at the University of Virginia, will be coaching the men's team.

The top six American players from the season-ending ITA national singles rankings are eligible for automatic selections, with up to three additional spots held for the highest-ranked American doubles team and the top American finisher at the NCAA Championships. The remaining players on each team were selected by USTA Player Development staff in conjunction with USTA National Coaches, ITA staff and current collegiate coaches. Eighteen of the players selected received 2009 All-American honors.

The women's team includes the five of the top six American players from the final national singles rankings: Cecil, who finished No. 1 overall after winning the NCAA Division I singles title as a freshman, Cohen, Barte, McKenna and Falconi. Cecil won the NCAA Division I Championship, while Notre Dame’s Tefft was named ITA Senior Player of the Year. Barte, Fink and McDowell will all be making their second straight appearances on the team.

Venus and Koniecko both finished their final seasons ranked among the top 10 in the national rankings. Britton became the youngest male to ever capture the NCAA Division I Championships, while Klahn was named ITA Rookie of the Year. Strode, who lost to Britton in the semifinals of the NCAA championships, won the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship. Aubone and Kronauge were named to the team for the second consecutive year.

Current pros who were members of prior USTA Summer Collegiate Teams include: James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Audra Cohen, Amer Delic, Laura Granville, John Isner, Jesse Levine, Todd Paul, Sam Warburg, and Jesse Witten.

 

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