New York(SMI-WIRE,08.16.17) –The USTA today announced that NCAA singles champions Brienne Minor and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, along with top prospects Christopher Eubanks and Francesca Di Lorenzo, lead the group of top American collegiate players selected to play in the fourth annual American Collegiate Invitational at the 2017 US Open, September 7-9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

 

The American Collegiate Invitational, open only to American college players, began in 2014 as a way to spotlight college tennis during the US Open. Eight men and eight women play single-elimination singles tournaments Thursday to Saturday during the second week of the US Open, with the winners receiving a wild card into the 2018 US Open, main draw or qualifying, depending on their ranking next summer.

 

For the second straight year, the American Collegiate Invitational will also serve as a testing ground for several innovations, including utilizing a 25-second serve clock between points and eliminating coaching violations, allowing players to communicate with coaches between points.

 

Men’s Field:

*J.C. Arangone (Sr., Virginia; Yorba Linda, Calif.)

William Blumberg (Fr., UNC, Greenwich, Conn.)

Christopher Eubanks (Jr. Georgia Tech; Atlanta)

Tom Fawcett (Jr., Stanford; Winnetka, Ill.)

*Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Sr., Virginia; Charlotte)

Alfredo Perez (Soph., Florida; Miami)

*Mike Redlicki (Sr., Arkansas; Chicago)

** Alex Rybakiv (Soph., TCU; Coral Springs, Fla.)

 

Women’s Field:

*Sydney Campbell(Sr., Vanderbilt; Franklin, Tenn.)

*Hayley Carter (Sr., UNC; Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 

Sara Daavettila (Fr., UNC; Williamston, Mich.)

Francesca Di Lorenzo (Soph., Ohio State; New Albany, Ohio)

**Alexa Graham (Fr., UNC; Garden City, N.Y.)

Brienne Minor (Soph., Michigan; Mundelein, Ill.)

Ingrid Neel (Fr., Florida; Rochester, Minn.)

Ena Shibahara (Fr., UCLA; Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.)

 

*Indicates player is a graduating senior and/or has turned pro/exhausted collegiate eligibility.; ** USTA Wild Card Selection

 

The fields are comprised of the top two players in the ATP/WTA rankings (as of August 7) and the top five players in the year-end Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings (excluding those selected by pro ranking), including at least two graduating seniors or players who have turned pro/exhausted their collegiate eligibility.

 

The men’s/women’s American Collegiate Invitational champions will receive main draw wild card entries into the  2018 US Open if either is ranked No. 120 or better by the US Open entry deadline next summer. Otherwise, the winners will receive qualifying wild cards. The champions will also get wild cards into three USTA Pro Circuit events, while each runner-up will get one.

 

Twenty years ago, the US Open was transformed by the introduction of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The centerpiece of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Arthur Ashe Stadium provided the game’s greats – and its greatest fans – with a stage unmatched in the sport. Boasting a capacity of more than 23,000, Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis-only stadium in the world, allowing the Open to welcome more than half a million more fans annually than when its namesake won the men’s singles championship in 1968. Best of all, the stadium has grown with the times. In 2016, it added a retractable roof, banishing rain delays to the historical record and ensuring that US Open attendees could continue to experience the excitement of US Open tennis – regardless of the weather. Today, Arthur Ashe Stadium provides the ultimate showcase for the world’s finest players to complete the toughest two weeks in tennis.

 

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network.