Team USA looks to reclaim Master'U crown

The United States’ 2018 Master’U squad could be called the “Redeem Team,” 10 years after the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team won gold under that moniker, as the country’s top collegiate tennis players seek to avenge a second-place finish in last year's competition. After winning six titles in a row from 2011-16, Team USA fell short to Great Britain in last year’s championship match.

The 2018 BNP Paribas International Collegiate Team Competition will take place in Grenoble, France, from Nov. 29-Dec. 2, as the U.S. looks to claim title No. 8 in the 13th edition of the annual contest. It will be Team USA's 11th time vying for the trophy.

This year’s star-studded team features two returners from the 2017 effort, in Ashley Lahey (pictured above) of Pepperdine and Brandon Holt of USC, both ranked No. 4 in the Oracle/ITA Division I women’s and men’s singles rankings, respectively. Joining them will be newcomers Jada Hart (UCLA), Maria Mateas (Duke), Oliver Crawford (Florida) and Emil Reinberg (Georgia). Mateas holds the highest professional ranking on the team, at No. 303 in the WTA rankings, with a career high of No. 284.

“This is an exceptional group of student-athletes who will represent Team USA in France this year for one of the biggest collegiate tennis events in the world," said Brian Ormiston of USTA Collegiate Tennis. “They are all anxious to continue a winning tradition and attempt to claim the USA’s eighth title in the last 10 seasons.” 

Former Boise State men’s coach Greg Patton and current University of California, Berkeley women’s coach Amanda Augustus will travel with and coach the team.

Billed as “the world event of university tennis,” Master’U is college’s answer to Fed Cup and Davis Cup. Each team match consists of two men’s and two women’s singles matches, one women’s and one men’s doubles match and a mixed doubles match. The competition started in 2006, with France winning the first two editions.

During the event, complete results from each day of play can be found by visiting the Master’U BNP Paribas website.

Past U.S. representatives in the Master’U competition include Steve Johnson, Irina Falconi, Austin Krajicek, Maria Sanchez, Mackenzie McDonald, Danielle Collins, Chris Eubanks and Martin Redlicki.