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Coaches Selected for USTA Men's and Women's Summer Collegiate Teams

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 8, 2009 - The USTA announced today the four coaches chosen to lead the USTA Men’s and Women’s Summer Collegiate Teams, an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players that began in 1996 and is funded by the USTA. It is designed to provide players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the summer months. Amanda Augustus from the University of California-Berkeley and Kathy Sell from Princeton University will coach the women’s team, while Chris Brandi from Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia’s Tony Bresky will lead the men’s team.

The teams, which this year have been doubled to 12 participants each, will be named after the NCAA Championships in May. Team members will be selected based on performance at those championships as well as the ITA All-Americans and National Indoor Championships, and the final ITA National Rankings. Current pros who are past participants include James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Audra Cohen, Amer Delic, Laura Granville, John Isner, Jesse Levine, Todd Paul, Sam Warburg, and Jesse Witten.

“Amanda Augustus and Kathy Sell were two of the top collegiate players during their playing days and are now two of the top college coaches in the nation,” said Ola Malmqvist, Head of Women’s Tennis, USTA Player Development. “Their playing and coaching experience coupled with their passion for the game will make them great assets to this summer’s program.”

“We are excited to have two up and coming coaches like Tony and Chris lead the USTA Summer Collegiate Team,” said Jay Berger, Head of Men’s Tennis, USTA Player Development. “They both are high-energy, hard-working coaches who will do a great job mentoring our top collegians this summer.”

Augustus, 31, took over the head coaching position at Cal, her alma mater, in 2007 after serving as the head coach at the University of Michigan for the 2006-07 season. During her playing career, Augustus was a four-time All-American and won the NCAA doubles title in both 1998 and 1999. Following her collegiate career, Augustus spent five years on the WTA Tour, winning 20 professional titles and reaching a career-high doubles ranking of No. 82 in 2002.

Sell, 30, is entering her fifth year as the head coach at Princeton, and has led the Tigers to a winning season each year during her tenure. Prior to coaching at Princeton, Sell served as an assistant coach for two years at the University of Oregon, which earned an NCAA tournament bid in 2004. Sell spent her collegiate career at Duke University, where she earned All-American honors as a senior. She was also named Duke University’s co-Athlete of the Year in 2001, becoming the first female to earn that award.

Brandi, 26, is in his first year as an assistant coach for Wake Forest University’s men’s team. After finishing his collegiate career at the University of Florida in 2006, Brandi immediately went into coaching, working with Laura Granville and 2005 US Open Junior Champion Ryan Sweeting. While at Florida, Brandi helped lead the team to a No. 1 national ranking, and earned All-American status in doubles. Brandi is the son of Andy Brandi, who coached Florida’s women’s team for 17 years. Bresky, 34, was elevated to his current position of Associate Head Coach for the University of Virginia’s men’s team after being named the ITA’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005. During his six year tenure at Virginia, the Cavaliers have won four ACC Championships, five ACC regular season titles, one ITA National Team Indoor Championship and have reached the NCAA semifinals on two occasions. Bresky played collegiately for Western Illinois University, and during his career he was named Mid-Continent Player of the Year three times, and was named All-Conference all four years.

This summer, for the first time, USTA Player Development will host two Pro Tour Transition camps - one for the men, one for the women - for the selected players. The men’s camp will be held June 20-23 in Boca Raton, Fla., while the women’s camp will be conducted July 6-9 in Atlanta.

Posted on April 8, 2009
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