News

Twelve of the best college players in the country will travel the USTA Pro Circuit this summer as the 2024 Collegiate Summer Team, an initiative by the USTA to support elite NCAA athletes as they test the waters on the professional tour.

Six men and six women, all of whom were selected as all-Americans in the 2023-24 athletic year, from 10 universities, have been named to the team, which makes them eligible for travel grants and coaching support this summer. Each of the players was selected based on a number of criteria, including their year-end rankings, individual collegiate tournament results, or postseason honors.

Leading the way are 2024 Division I women’s champion Alexa Noel of the University of Miami and men’s finalist Michael Zheng from Columbia University, who reached the title match this spring as a sophomore. Also selected were year-end women’s No. 1 Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M University, who helped the Aggies win the women’s team championship; last year’s top-ranked player, Fiona Crawley, who qualified for the 2023 US Open; and Cooper Williams, who was the top-ranked male freshman in the year-end ITA rankings at No. 14.

Six of the players were named the Players of the Year by their respective conferences.

2024 USTA Collegiate Summer Team

Men
Ozan Baris, Michigan State (Soph.; Okemos, Mich.)
Nishesh Basavareddy, Stanford (Soph.; Carmel, Ind.)
Micah Braswell, Texas (Sr.; Sarasota, Fla.)
Eliot Spizzirri, Texas (Sr.; Greenwich, Conn.)
Cooper Williams, Duke (Fr.; New York)
Michael Zheng, Columbia (Soph.; Montville, N.J.)

Women
Fiona Crawley, UNC (Sr.; San Antonio)
Connie Ma, Stanford (Jr.; Dublin, Calif.)
Kari Miller, Michigan (Sr.; Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Alexa Noel, Miami (Jr.; Summit, N.J.)
Luciana Perry, Ohio State (Fr.; Export, Pa.)
Mary Stoiana, Texas A&M (Jr.; Southbury, Conn.)

Former ATP and WTA pros Martin Redlicki and Samantha Crawford, now assistant coaches at Okalahoma State University, will travel with and coach the men and the women, respectively. They will also provide assistance to any American collegians playing at USTA Pro Circuit tournaments. The USTA Collegiate Summer Team program is led by USTA national coach Maureen Diaz.

“As the level of training and competition in college tennis continues to rise in the U.S. and become an increasingly more important and viable pathway for our best American prospects to mature and develop before they enter the professional ranks, our USTA PD commitment to our top collegians is also strong and comprehensive,” Martin Blackman, USTA Player Development’s general manager, said.

“We commend the ITA for working closely with the ATP and WTA to establish important and powerful linkages for top collegians into professional tennis events. We look forward to seeing this year’s Summer Team compete, perform and progress during a robust and exciting summer of great USTA Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. Congratulations also to the coaches from these great universities for their success in developing these great young players.”

Noel and Zheng were previously awarded US Open women’s main-draw and men’s qualifying wild cards, respectively, for their performances at this year’s individual championships.