Elite of College Tennis: The Americans

Welcome back everyone to another great season of college tennis action. We will start off the year by highlighting the top 10 American men and women playing college tennis, as rated by the UTR system. The men’s top 10 is made up of four seniors, three juniors, two freshmen and one sophomore. The women’s top 10 is comprised of four freshmen, three sophomores, two seniors, and one junior. I did a profile on three men and three women and listed their accomplishments to show you why each belongs in the UTR top 10. #1 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (University of Virginia Senior - Charlotte, North Carolina) Kwiatkowski has pretty much done it all during his time in Charlottesville with the senior from Charlotte winning an ITA All-American Singles and Doubles Championship (same year), named an ITA All-American two times, won two team NCAA Championships, named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, plus he’s won a ton of matches (113 singles/76 doubles). This past fall Kwiatkowski won the American Collegiate Invitational which guarantees him a qualifying wild card at the 2017 US Open. Kwiatkowski also won his first professional singles title this past December at the Puerto Rico F1 Futures in Mayaguez. #2 Brandon Holt (University of Southern California Freshman - Rolling Hills, California) Holt had a tremendous fall after winning the consolation draw at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa. Holt defeated eight ITA ranked players in the fall and so far in the dual-match season he has three ranked wins with two of those coming at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Holt won singles and doubles (with Riley Smith) titles at the 60th annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championships back in late October and he also made it to the round of 16 at the National Indoor Intercollegiates in November. Holt has a current ITA singles ranking of No. 27 which is the second highest among all freshmen. #7 Mike Redlicki (University of Arkansas Senior - Chicago, Illinois) Redlicki went 17-2 during the fall, including 11-1 against ITA ranked opponents, with his biggest wins coming in route to winning the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York. Redlicki defeated Petros Chrysochos (Co-#1), Chris Eubanks (#7), and Mikael Torpegaard (Co-#1) in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals while also picking up top 30 wins in the two earlier rounds. Redlicki also won the top singles flight at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens back in September. Redlicki is currently ranked No. 5 in the latest ITA singles rankings. #1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State University Sophomore - New Albany, Ohio) Di Lorenzo has spent most of her short collegiate career as the top ranked player because just about all she does is win matches. Di Lorenzo swept both of the fall majors winning the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships along with the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Di Lorenzo defeated nine ranked players to win those two events and she only dropped two sets in doing so. Di Lorenzo set a program record for wins last season by winning 37 matches and so far this year she’s already won another 18 which is one ahead of her pace from last season. She is the currently ranked No. 1 in singles by the ITA. #7 Ena Shibahara (UCLA Freshman - Rancho Palos Verdes, California) The Bruin freshman began her collegiate career by winning 15 of her first 16 matches which included 10 wins in the first 8 days of the Riviera All-American Championships. Shibahara finished as the runner-up at the All-Americans but rebounded one week later by winning the Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu, California. Shibahara finished as the runner-up in the top singles flight at the Freeman Memorial in mid-January and then she won her first six dual-matches with each coming at the top spot in the singles lineup. Shibahara is currently ranked No. 2 in singles by the ITA. #10 Kate Fahey (University of Michigan Sophomore - Fair Haven, New Jersey) Fahey had a standout freshman season winning 21 dual-matches while splitting time between #2 and #3. She was named all-Big Ten last season and is well on her way to earning those honors again this season. Fahey won the ITA Midwest Regional Championship in the fall, which included wins over four ranked opponents, and then she was invited to compete at the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York. Fahey is a perfect 11-0 in singles this year, 8-0 in duals, and in fact she has yet to drop a set which is remarkable since nine of her opponents have been ranked. Fahey is currently ranked No. 21 in the latest ITA singles rankings. So you’ve seen the American UTR top 10 which is filled with plenty of talented collegians. Can the freshmen hold onto their spots or will some of the more seasoned players begin to take over? About UTR The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system provides tennis players worldwide a common scale to determine their level of play. The 16-level scale (from beginners to elite world-class professionals), precisely and reliably determines individual players’ ratings based on actual match results without regard for age, gender or where the matches are played. The Universal Tennis website allows visitors to view more than three million tennis results. College tennis coaches utilize UTR ratings for recruiting, for scouting opponents, and also to track the levels of their current players. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) currently uses UTR ratings to assist with selections and seedings for select regional and national events. A UTR subscription is required to search and view player ratings on the UTR system, with pricing starting at forever free for UTR Basic. The UTR Premium Plus allows subscribers access to search and view college team profiles.

1. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Sr) University of Virginia
2. Brandon Holt (Fr) University of Southern California
3. Jc Aragone (Sr) University of Virginia
4. Alex Rybakov (So) Texas Christian University
5. Christopher Eubanks (Jr) Georgia Tech
6. Strong Kirchheimer (Sr) Northwestern University
7. Mike Redlicki (Sr) University of Arkansas
8. Aron Hiltzik (Jr) University of Illinois
9. William Blumberg (Fr) University of North Carolina
10. Collin Altamirano (Jr) University of Virginia

1. Francesca Di Lorenzo (So) Ohio State University
2. Josie Kuhlman (Jr) University of Florida
3. Sara Daavettila (Fr) University of North Carolina
4. Blair Shankle (Sr) Baylor University
5. Maegan Manasse (Sr) University of California
6. Ingrid Neel (Fr) University of Florida
7. Ena Shibahara (Fr) UCLA
8. Ashley Lahey (Fr) Pepperdine University
9. Brienne Minor (So) University of Michigan
10. Kate Fahey (So) University of Michigan

Feature photo: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of University of Virginia. (Courtesy of Chris Hyde/Getty Images)