June 11, 2009
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech All-Americans Amanda McDowell and Irina Falconi have both earned spots on the 12-person USTA Summer Collegiate Team, as announced by the USTA and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Thursday morning.
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.
McDowell, a 2008 USTA Summer Collegiate Team participant, is one of three returning players to the 2009 squad. The rising senior from Atlanta, Ga., finished this season with a 25-16 singles record and earned All-ACC honors for the second straight season. In the fall, McDowell teamed with Falconi to win the 2008 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Doubles title.
Falconi, a rising sophomore from Jupiter, Fla., became only the fifth Yellow Jacket to earn All-American honors after a tremendous rookie season on the Flats. Falconi finished with a 30-12 singles mark and registered a 16-9 record during the dual-match season to earn All-ACC honors.
The 2008-09 Yellow Jackets finished the season with an 18-8 record and reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year. Three members of the squad earned All-ACC honors for their terrific seasons. Off the court, the team registered a 3.16 GPA in the classroom, while the freshman class held over a 3.5 GPA during the spring semester.
“We are very proud of the tradition we have developed with our players achieving such great honors,” head coach Bryan Shelton said. “We have a very promising future with our athletes excelling both on and off the court. Irina has been a pleasure to work with.”
The following women’s tennis players have been selected to this year’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 twelve 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.
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.
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.
– RamblinWreck.com –
