TOURNAMENT NOTES as of July 9, 2014 WOMEN’S HOSPITAL CLASSIC EVANSVILLE, IN • JULY 13–20 USTA PRO CIRCUIT RETURNS TO EVANSVILLE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION The Women’s Hospital Classic is taking place in Evansville for the 16th consecutive year. It is the only USTA Pro Circuit event taking Site: Wesselman Park Tennis Club place in Indiana this year and is the first of Evansville, Ind. four consecutive hard-court events to begin University of Tennessee Websites: www.evansvilletennis.net the summer hard-court season in preparation procircuit.usta.com for the US Open. Qualifying Draw Begins: Sunday, July 13 Notable players competing in the main draw Main Draw Begins: Tuesday, July 15 include: Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles Sixteen-year-old Tornado Alicia Black, who Surface: Hard / Outdoors is No. 4 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. Black advanced to the final of the girls’ Prize Money: $10,000 singles event at the 2013 US Open Junior Championships. Immediately following the Tournament Director: US Open, she won her first pro title at the Anna Hazlett, (812) 430-4890 $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Amelia [email protected] A former University of Tennessee standout, Island, Fla. Also last year, Black reached the Caitlin Whoriskey was named the 2010 Tournament Press Contact: singles quarterfinals and won the doubles College Senior Player of the Year after Ryan McDaniel, (317) 213-7697 title at the prestigious Orange Bowl to break leading the Volunteers to the quarterfinals [email protected] into the Top 10 of the junior rankings. This of the NCAA Tournament. year, Black reached the singles quarterfinals USTA Public Relations Contacts: of junior Wimbledon and the doubles Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219 semifinals of the French Open. In July 2012, the Year after leading the Volunteers to the [email protected] she made her WTA debut in the qualifying quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for draw of the tournament in Washington, D.C. the first time in eight seasons. Whoriskey captured her first career USTA Pro Circuit PRIZE MONEY / POINTS Top seed Caitlin Whoriskey, a former singles title in May at the $10,000 event SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points University of Tennessee standout, who was in Hilton Head Island, S.C., where she Winner $1,568 12 named the 2010 College Senior Player of also won the doubles crown. She has also Runner-up $980 7 captured seven USTA Pro Circuit and ITF- Semifinalist $490 4 level doubles titles throughout the world. Quarterfinalist $245 2 Round of 16 $196 1 Natalie Pluskota, who completed her stellar Round of 32 $98 0 college career in 2012 at the University of Tennessee, where she received four All- DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) America honors (once in singles, three times Winner $637 Andrew Ong/USOpen.org in doubles) and finished sixth all-time in Runner-up $343 program history with 107 doubles wins. Semifinalist $196 She also advanced to the final of the 2010 Quarterfinalist $98 NCAA Doubles Championship with Caitlin Round of 16 $49 Whoriskey. Pluskota peaked at No. 158 in the world in doubles last July and has won three USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles. 2013 Evansville singles runner-up Brooke Sixteen-year-old Tornado Alicia Black is No. 4 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. She advanced to the final of the girls’ singles event at the 2013 US Open Junior Championships. *Player field subject to change TOURNAMENT NOTES Austin, who won the first USTA Pro Circuit singles title of her career singles finalist. She also reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA at the $10,000 event in Sumter, S.C., in May. Austin is a former Doubles Championship. With her results, Weatherholt became the junior standout who won the 2012 USTA Girls’ 18s Spring National first singles All-American in school history. Championships and helped lead the U.S. to back-to-back World Junior Tennis titles (14 and under) in 2009 and 2010. She reached Veronica Corning, who played tennis for a year and a half at Boston the final of the 2012 Easter Bowl, losing to year-end junior No. 1 College, then transferred to Northwestern University, where she Taylor Townsend in the final, and last year she reached the singles recently completed her senior season. This past season, Corning quarterfinals and doubles semifinals at the Easter Bowl. Austin won was a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten First Team and played her only USTA Pro Circuit doubles title at the $10,000 event in in the NCAA Tournament. Corning played high school tennis in Cleveland in 2011. She recently committed to play for the University Hamilton, Mass., and did not lose a set throughout her high school of Florida in the fall. career. She also won the 2011 US Open National Playoffs Middle States mixed doubles title. Josie Kuhlman, who reached back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit singles finals last month at the $10,000 women’s events in Bethany Beach, Syracuse University’s Emily Harman and Madeleine Kobelt. Harman Del., and Charlotte. As a junior player, Kuhlman reached the doubles has graduated and was named to the All-Big East women’s tennis final of the prestigious Easter Bowl in 2013 and the singles semifinals team. Kobelt led the team with an overall record of 35-15 in her of the 2013 International Hard Court Championships. She has signed freshman year in 2011. a national letter of intent to attend the University of Florida. Kate Turvy, who played for Northwestern and was named a first-team Mary Weatherholt, who completed her college career in 2013 for All-Big Ten selection; and Nicole Robinson, who recently completed the University of Nebraska, where she closed the greatest individual her freshman year at Purdue. career in Nebraska women’s tennis history as the 2013 NCAA *Player field subject to change EVANSVILLE PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2013 Emina Bektas (USA) Brooke Austin (USA) 2013 Emina Bektas (USA) – Brooke Bolender (USA) 2012 Mallory Burdette (USA) Ying-Ying Duan (CHN) 2012 Ying-Ying Duan (CHN) – Yi-Fan Xu (CHN) 2011 Elizabeth Ferris (USA) Nicole Melichar (USA) 2011 Brynn Boren (USA) – Sabrina Santamaria (USA) 2010 Gabriela Paz (VEN) Chichi Scholl (USA) 2010 Brynn Boren (USA) – Sabrina Santamaria (USA) 2009 Elizabeth Lumpkin (USA) Kaitlyn Christian (USA) 2009 Maria Sanchez (USA) – Yasmin Schnack (USA) 2008 Megan Moulton-Levy (USA) Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) 2008 Rebecca Marino (CAN) – Ellah Nze (USA) 2007 Kimberly Couts (USA) Helena Besovic (BIH) 2007 Jenna Long (USA) – Anna Lubinsky (USA) 2006 Audra Cohen (USA) Lauren Albanese (USA) 2006 Beau Jones (USA) – Tiya Rolle (USA) 2005 Sarah Taylor (USA) Kristi Miller (USA) 2005 Wynne Prakusya (INA) – Romana Tedjakusuma (INA) 2004 Nicole Leimbach (USA) Anda Perianu (ROU) 2004 Kelly Schmandt (USA) – Aleke Tsoubanos (USA) 2003 Stephanie Hazlett (USA) Neyssa Etienne (HAI) 2003 Tamara Encina (USA) – Alison Ojeda (USA) 2002 Shadisha Robinson (USA) Deanna Roberts (AUS) 2002 Jin-Hee Kim (KOR) – Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 2001 Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) Kristen Schlukebir (USA) 2001 Vilmarie Castellvi (PUR) – Alison Ojeda (USA) 2000 Kelly McCain (USA) Stephanie Hazlett (USA) 2000 Tomoe Hotta (JPN) – Ryoko Takemura (JPN) 1999 Kristina Kraszewski (USA) Lara Van Rooten (USA) 1999 Amanda Augustus (USA) – Elizabeth Schmidt (USA) TOURNAMENT NOTES USTA PRO CIRCUIT YOUTH TENNIS With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition The USTA is making it easier and more fun for kids to get into for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. Celebrating its the game—and stay in the game. Kids are learning to play 35th anniversary in 2014, the USTA Pro Circuit provides players with the opportunity to gain professional faster than ever before through the USTA’s youth initiative, ranking points, and it has grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries which is geared toward getting more kids to participate in competed in cities nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam tennis using modified equipment and courts tailored to a child’s Querrey, Victoria Azarenka and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on size. For more information, visit YouthTennis.com. the USTA Pro Circuit. More recently, the USTA Pro Circuit helped launch the careers of two young NJTL Americans—Bradley Klahn and Shelby Ray East Rogers. Former Stanford standout and 2010 Founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, along with Charlie Pasarell NCAA champion Klahn was the 2013 USTA Pro Circuit Prize Money Leader with $50,606 and Sheridan Snyder, the USTA/National Junior Tennis & in earnings, reaching five USTA Pro Circuit Learning (NJTL) network is a nationwide group of more than singles finals and winning two singles titles: 625 non-profit youth development organizations that provide the $15,000 Futures in Costa Mesa, Calif., free or low-cost tennis, education and life skills programming in March, and the $100,000 Challenger in to more than 350,000 children each year. Celebrating its Aptos, Calif., in August. The two singles titles were the first USTA Pro Circuit singles 44th anniversary this year, NJTL is one of the USTA’s largest crowns of his career. Klahn also earned community-based offerings.. a USTA wild card into the 2013 US Open through a wild card challenge incorporating USTA Pro Circuit events. Klahn finished 2013 US OPEN NATIONAL PLAYOFFS ranked in the Top 100 for the first time in his career after starting the year ranked outside Shelby Rogers The USTA launched the US Open the Top 250.