UF Players, Florida Natives Among American Collegiate Invitational Tennis at US Open

The University of Florida’s Alfredo Perez (Sophomore; Miami) and Ingrid Neel (Freshman; Rochester, Minn.), along with Coral Springs’ Alex Rybakov (Sophomore; TCU) are among eight men and eight women who will compete in the 4th annual American Collegiate Invitational at the 2017 US Open, Sept. 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. The champions will also get wild cards into three USTA Pro Circuit events, while each runner-up will get one.

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.

Joining Perez and Rybarikov in the men’s field will be J.C. Aragone (Sr., Virginia; Yorba Linda, Calif.), William Blumberg (Fr., UNC, Greenwich, Conn.), Christopher Eubanks (Jr. Georgia Tech; Atlanta), Tom Fawcett (Jr., Stanford; Winnetka, Ill.), last year’s winner Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Sr., Virginia; Charlotte) and Mike Redlicki (Sr., Arkansas; Chicago).

Joining Neel in the women’s field will be 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.) and Ena Shibahara (Fr., UCLA; Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.).

Minor and Kwiatkowski are women’s and men’s NCAA singles champions respectively. The fields are comprised of the top two players in the ATP/WTA rankings (as of Aug. 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.

Past Champions (men/women):

2016 — Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Danielle Collins
2015 — Mackenzie McDonald, Robin Anderson
2014 — Marcos Giron, Jamie Loeb

For more info go to www.usta.com/news.