American Collegiate Invitational Recap; Update on the 16 Participants

My recap of the first American Collegiate Invitational is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network.  After talking with tournament director Bill Mountford and US Open tournament director David Brewer, it sounds as if will be back in 2015, with some tweaks, of course.

As I mentioned in my post last week on how top college players feel about the no-ad format, I talked to all 16 competitors at the American Collegiate Invitational two weeks ago. So instead of a slide show, I'm passing along individual photos with a brief update on their plans for the coming months.

The UCLA sophomore is taking the fall off to compete in USTA Pro Circuit tournaments. Brady won her first ITF Women's Circuit singles title at last week's $25K in Redding

Cercone, who graduated from Florida in May, is planning to continue competing on the Pro Circuit and will play in the upcoming ITF Women's tournaments in Mexico

Andrews is currently working on a masters in accounting at Notre Dame, but will train with the team, and continue play when he can, saying he's not ready to give it up.

Carter is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, and with a preseason ranking of 3. She was out most of the summer with an injury, but reached the final of the $10K in Fort Worth, her 1st tournament since the NCAAs

The sophomore at UCLA returns to school in October after playing 10 events this summer. McDonald, 13 in the preseason rankings, reached the semis of the Winnetka Challenger and Tulsa Futures and will play the Napa Challenger next week.

Ahn, who graduated from Stanford with a degree in Science, Technology and Society, is now training in Boca Raton, although not with the USTA. She plans to play professional tennis for at least a couple of years.

Sarkissian, the NCAA finalist in 2014, won a Futures title in Canada this summer. The Pepperdine graduate plans to compete on the professional circuit full time.

The 2014 NCAA champion, a junior at Virginia, is No. 10 in the preseason rankings. She had wrist surgery after the NCAAs, returning to competition in August and winning a set from WTA No. 2 Simona Halep in the first round of the US Open.

Thompson expressed disappointment with his results this summer, his first as a professional, citing confidence issues. But the former UCLA Bruin did reach the quarterfinals of this week's Futures in Costa Mesa

The Virginia junior is No. 5 in the preseason rankings and expressed excitement about the upcoming ITA Riviera All-American Championships, where she reached the final as a pre-qualifier her freshman year. She plans to play Pro Circuit events this fall as well.

The Ohio State graduate is currently in Sweden, where he has reached the final of a Futures there. He has won 5 doubles titles since starting his pro career in June, all outside the US, and said he has enjoyed the extensive traveling he's done.

No. 1 in the preseason rankings, the North Carolina sophomore is playing the ITA Riviera All-American championships and the Las Vegas, Florence and New Braunfels Pro Circuit events. Says she definitely wants to turn pro, but has no timetable other than 'near future'.

Now a pro after three years at UCLA, Giron is expected to sign a management agreement with the CAA agency soon. He is playing the Napa Challenger next week, and says he gained confidence from qualifying at August's ATP Winston Salem event.

Former Gator Janowicz is dealing with a stress fracture in her foot, but if she heals sufficiently, she will give the professional tour a try.

Sarmiento is finishing his degree this semester at USC and will begin playing the Pro Circuit full time in January of 2015

Hiltzik strained his hip flexor this summer, but is back healthy and ready for his junior season at the University of Illinois. His preseason ranking is 6.