Sixteen top Americans named to 2012 USTA Collegiate Team

June 12, 2012 11:06 AM
Sixteen of the nation's top men's and women's collegiate tennis players have been named to the 2012 USTA Collegiate Team, administered by the USTA and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
 
The USTA Collegiate Team is an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players. The program 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 year. 
 
In addition to competing on the USTA Pro Circuit, USTA Player Development is hosting two Pro Tour Transition camps – one for men, one for women – for the selected players. The men’s camp is being held June 7-13 on clay courts in Boca Raton, Fla., while the women’s camp will be conducted June 10-14 on clay courts in Boca Raton.  Additional training opportunities for top American collegiate players will also occur over the summer in Boca Raton and Carson, Calif.
 
The following players have been selected to this year’s team:
 
Men’s Team
Chase Buchanan, Ohio State (SR, New Albany, Ohio)
Mitchell Frank, Virginia (FR, Annandale, Va.)
Jarmere Jenkins, Virginia (JR, College Park, Ga.)
Steve Johnson, USC (SR, Orange, Calif.)
Evan King, Michigan (JR, Chicago)
Bradley Klahn, Stanford (SR, Poway, Calif.)
Dennis Nevolo, Illinois (SR, Gurnee, Ill.)
Eric Quigley, Kentucky (SR, Pewee Valley, Ky.)
Ray Sarmiento, USC (SO, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
 
Women’s Team
Mallory Burdette, Stanford (JR, Jackson, Ga.)
Jacqueline Cako, Arizona State (SO, Brier, Wash.)
Beatrice Capra, Duke (FR, Ellicott City, Md.)
Lauren Embree, Florida (JR, Marco Island, Fla.)
Nicole Gibbs, Stanford (SO, Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Zoe Scandalis, USC (FR, San Diego)
Allie Will, Florida (JR, Boca Raton, Fla.)
 
In addition to the nine men named today, three more players will be named to the team based on cumulative results from three of eight USTA Pro Circuit Futures, including Sacramento, Calif.; Chico, Calif.; Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.; Innisbrook, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Rochester, N.Y.; Joplin, Mo.; and Godfrey, Ill. 
 
This year, the women’s team will have two coaches, while the men’s team will be assisted by a third. Troy Porco, Assistant Coach of Women’s Tennis at the University of Virginia, and Megan Bradley-Rose, the former Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at Princeton University, will coach the women’s team, while Bo Hodge, Assistant Coach of Men’s Tennis at the University of Oklahoma, and Andres Pedroso, Associate Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at the University of Virginia, will be coaching the men's teamwith assistance from Ryan Sachire, Associate Head Coach of Men’s Tennis at the University of Notre Dame.  Hodge has coached the USTA Collegiate team in each of the last two years, while Sachire served as a coach in 2011.
 
Team members were selected based on their performance at the NCAA Championships, the ITA All-Americans and the National Indoor Championships. Players’ results from the USTA Pro Circuit, ATP or WTA events were also considered. All 16 of the players selected received 2012 ITA All-American honors. 
 
The women's team includes the top four ranked players from the final national singles rankings: No. 1 Gibbs, who captured the NCAA women’s singles title, No. 2 Capra, an NCAA singles quarterfinalist who was named the ITA’s National Co-Rookie of the Year, No. 3 Will, who helped lead Florida to its second consecutive NCAA women’s team title, and No. 4 Burdette, who lost to Gibbs in the final of the NCAA singles championships. Embree finished No. 10 overall and won the NCAA title-clinching match for the Florida Gators for the second straight year, and Scandalis finished the year ranked No. 11. Both Embree and Will will be members of the team for the third consecutive year, while Gibbs was also on the team in 2011. 
 
Johnson captured his second straight NCAA men’s title and helped lead the Trojans to their fourth consecutive NCAA team title, while Frank captured the ITA All-American title and the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, beating Nevolo in the final. Buchanan – the 2009 USTA Boys’ 18s National Champion – won the NCAA men’s doubles title, as well as the doubles titles at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships and the ITA All-American Championships. Johnson, Frank and Quigley ended the year as the top three players in the ITA rankings. Johnson and Klahn were named to the team for the fourth consecutive year, while Buchanan, King and Quigley will all make their third consecutive appearance on the team. Nevolo and Sarmiento were both named to the team in 2011.
 
Current pros who were members of prior USTA Collegiate Teams include: James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, John Isner, Amer Delic, Jesse Levine and Irina Falconi.
 

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