July 18, 2014
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s Nathan Rakitt has received a wild card into the qualifying draw for the BB&T Atlanta Open, which begins Saturday at Atlantic Station.
It is the fourth straight year an active Yellow Jacket player has participated in the U.S. Open Series event.
The Tech junior from Marietta, Ga., who earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors last spring, has a 41-34 career singles record for the Yellow Jackets, including a team-high 22 wins as a freshman in 2012-13. He finished the spring at No. 115 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.
Former Tech All-American Juan Spir, who has a pair of ITF Futures Series doubles titles with former teammate Kevin King, is in the main doubles draw with fellow Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez. Spir is Tech’s all-time leader in doubles wins with 103.
Spir and King played in the main doubles draw at the BB&T Atlanta Open in 2013, while King teamed with former Georgia player Drake Bernstein in 2011. King also earned a spot in the singles qualifying draw in 2012.
MELENDEZ WINS ITA SUMMER CIRCUIT TITLE
Incoming freshman Elijah Melendez joined future teammate Cole Fiegel as a champion in the ITA Summer Circuit last weekend by winning the doubles championship at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Suwanee, Ga., native teamed with Andy Martinez of Atlanta for the title and captured the championship match in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (2) over Daniel Bednarczyk and Michael Sellitto of Indiana.
Melendez is rated a four-star player by the Tennis Recruiting Network.
Fiegel won the singles title at the ITA Summer event in Tallahassee the week prior.
