June 17, 2010
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech All-American Irina Falconi has earned a spot on the 12-person USTA Summer Collegiate Women’s Team, as announced by the USTA and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Thursday.
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.
Falconi, a rising junior from Jupiter, Fla., is coming off one of the best seasons in Georgia Tech women’s tennis history. She finished the year with a 40-3 overall singles record and was ranked No 1 in the nation the entire spring season. Falconi had won 23 consecutive matches before falling to eventual NCAA Champion Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament. She was named the 2010 ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Tournament MVP.
In addition to competing on the USTA Pro Circuit, USTA Player Development will host two Pro Tour Transition camps – one for men, one for women – for the selected players. The men’s camp will be held June 21-24 on clay courts in Boca Raton, Fla., and coached by USTA National Coach David Dilucia, while the women’s camp will be conducted June 27-July 1 on hard courts in Boca Raton and coached by USTA National Coach Sarah Taylor.
For the second consecutive year, the women’s team will have two new coaches. Jamea Jackson, Assistant Coach of Women’s Tennis at Oklahoma State University and Julia Scaringe, Assistant Coach of Women’s Tennis at Notre Dame, will coach the women’s team.
The top six American players from the season-ending ITA national singles rankings are eligible for automatic selections. The remaining players on each team were selected by USTA Player Development staff in conjunction with USTA National Coaches, and current collegiate coaches. Eighteen of the players selected received 2010 ITA All-American honors.
The women’s team includes five of the top seven American players from the final national singles rankings: Falconi, who finished No. 1 overall after winning the Riviera/ITA All-American singles title, Barte, Sanchez, Embree and Whoriskey. Embree was named ITA National Rookie of the Year while Whoriskey was named ITA Senior Player of the Year. Barte will make her third consecutive appearance on the team, while Falconi, Sanchez, Whoriskey and Lindsay Burdette will all join the team for the second straight year.
Current pros who were members of prior USTA Summer Collegiate Teams include: James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Amer Delic, Laura Granville, John Isner, Jesse Levine, Todd Paul, Sam Warburg, and Jesse Witten.
-RamblinWreck.com-
