Latest Versions of Monthly Guides to College Planning Available

For players entering their junior or senior year in high school, summer time is time to get cracking on the recruiting process. I’ve been speaking with players and parents for years about college tennis planning and developed the Monthly Guides to College Planning a few years ago to help simplify the process. The guides were made to complement the resources out there, with room to add your own checklist. The books for the classes of 2016 and 2017 are now up to date with the latest NCAA rules and available in print ($16) and Kindle ($5.99) versions from Amazon.

Three Big Ten Men Chosen for 2011 USTA Collegiate Team

Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State will be represented in the off-season this summer as a player from each has been chosen to train, travel and compete on fellow Americans on the  2011 USTA College Summer Team. Among the 13 men picked for the team are:

Dennis Nevolo, a senior at the University of Illinois. Nevolo finished the year with All American honors after he reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. His final single ranking for the year was 15.

Evan King, a junior at the University of Michigan. King became the first Wolverine man since 2007 (Matko Maravic and Brian Hungin) to receive All American status and finished the season with a national ranking of 17. Evan King received another accolade this week when he was chosen by Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier as a practice partner for the team during their match against Spain July 8^th.

Chase Buchanan, a senior at Ohio State University. Buchanan, who is also a two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year, earned All American honors for the third straight year. He finished the 2010-11 season ranked No. 12 in singles and No. 15 in doubles (with Blaz Rola).

The USTA College Summer Team is a program funded by the United States Tennis Association to give players exposure to elite training, as well as experience on the USTA Pro Circuit. The men’s team will be coached this year by Notre Dame’s Associate Head Coach Ryan Sachire and Bo Hodge, Assistant Coach at the University of Alabama. Both coaches are returning for a second consecutive year.

Illini Annie McCarthy Receives National Honor

Illini Annie McCarthy was one of only two players (Carlos Hernandez of Texas is the other) in the country selected as the 2011 Wilson/ITA Promoter Student-Athlete of the year.

According to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the award recognizes college players “who promote the game of tennis at the collegiate level by devoting consistent time and effort to promotional activities and who support and bring awareness to either their school program or the sport as a whole.” McCarthy did this by working at the local MIX 94.5 radio station as an intern, writing, producing and broadcasting a weekly segment on University of Illinois Athletics. She has also written tennis blogs for Inasectv.com and the Fighting Illini website.

McCarthy, who finished her final year of playing for the Illini, will receive a paid summer internship at Wilson’s headquarters in Chicago with her award. For more information on the award, visit the ITA Website.