The USTA announced the top American collegians selected to represent the United States in the fifth annual Master’U BNP Paribas, an international collegiate competition held December 9-12 in Rouen, France. The event features eight teams composed of college and university players from around the world.

  

The U.S., which defeated France to win the 2009 title, will be competing for the third consecutive year against a talented field that includes teams from Belgium, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Switzerland. The teams will compete in a best-of-seven format consisting of two men’s and two women’s singles matches, one men’s and one women’s doubles match, and one mixed doubles match.

 

 

Sekou Bangoura, Florida

Reid Carleton, Duke

Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M

 

 

Kristy Frilling, Notre Dame

Maria Sanchez, USC

Allie Will, Florida

 

 

The team will be coached by Greg Patton, the head coach of the Boise State University men’s tennis team, who helped lead the U.S. to the 2009 title, and Mark Guilbeau, the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Virginia. Roster spots for the team were selected by a committee of USTA Player Development and coaches and staff from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

  

Bangoura, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., was named 2009 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year and captured the singles title at the Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic last weekend. Carleton, a senior from Naples, Fla., reached the semifinals at the 2010 D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships and is a member of the top-ranked doubles team in the ITA Preseason Division I rankings. Krajicek, a senior from Brandon, Fla., and a member of last year’s title-winning team, won the doubles title at the 2010 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and is No. 12 in the ITA Preseason Division I singles rankings and No. 4 in the doubles rankings. Both Bangoura and Krajicek were members of the 2010 USTA Summer Collegiate Team, an elite training program funded by the USTA to provide top American collegians with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment.

  

Frilling, a junior from Sidney, Ohio, is No. 8 in the ITA Preseason Division I singles rankings, and won the doubles title at the USTA Pro Circuit $10,000 event in Atlanta. Sanchez, a senior from Modesto, Calif., won the 2010 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate singles title and is No. 3 in the ITA Preseason Division I singles rankings. Will, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., and the No. 5 player in the ITA Preseason Division I rankings, won the doubles title at the 2010 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and reached the singles final of the USTA Pro Circuit $10,000 event in Atlanta. All three women were members of the 2010 USTA Summer Collegiate Team.