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ITA announces All-Star Team

June 14, 2017

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced its 2017 ITA Collegiate All-Star Team on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. The ITA Collegiate All-Star Team honors the top student-athletes of the 2016-17 season from all five divisions of college tennis.

The ITA Collegiate All-Star Team features the nation’s top-ranked men’s and women’s players from the year-end Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, in addition to winners of the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and 2017 NCAA Division I and III Championships.

Kwiatkowski became the fourth player from Virginia to win an NCAA title, defeating North Carolina’s William Blumberg 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the 2017 final. The victory also earns Kwiatkowski an automatic bid into the main draw of the 2017 US Open. Kwiatkowski ends his collegiate career having won an NCAA singles championship, three straight NCAA team championships (he was named MVP of the 2016 tournament), an ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship (2017) and three ACC Championships. In addition, he won the 2015 Saint Francis Health Systems ITA Men’s All-American singles and doubles championships in 2015. He finished his collegiate career with a 136-24 singles record and 95-21 in doubles.

The 2017 ITA National Freshman of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year, Blumberg became the first player in North Carolina history to reach the final of the NCAA singles tournament. The freshman finished his inaugural campaign with a 31-3 record. He also reached the NCAA quarterfinals in doubles with junior Robert Kelly to earn All-America honors. Blumberg helped guide the Tar Heels to their first appearance in a NCAA tournament final, where they fell to ACC rival Virginia 4-2. He was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Playing No. 1 singles, Redlicki posted a 28-11 record in singles play, including a 20-8 mark against ranked opponents, and finished the year ranked No. 12 nationally. At the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, Redlicki defeated top-seeded Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State 6-4, 6-3 in the final, to become the first player from Arkansas since 1986 to win a National Indoors title. Redlicki was also a strong doubles player; he teamed with Jose Salazar and the duo finished the year ranked No. 10 and earned All-America status.

Harris and Papa became the first Sooners in program history to win an individual national championship, as the duo topped Georgia’s Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (6) in the NCAA doubles final. The victory catapulted Harris and Papa into the year-end No. 1 ranking, moving into the spot previously occupied by their opponents in the NCAA final.

Loeb and Zielinski entered the 2017 NCAA doubles championship as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team and top seed. The Bulldogs duo advanced all the way to the national championship match, where they fell in three sets to Spencer Papa and Andrew Harris of Oklahoma 6-4, 2-6, 0-1 (6). In their first season together, Loeb and Zielinski were a perfect 4-0 against teams ranked in the Top 5.

Mansouri and Seraphim spent a good portion of the 2016-17 season as the nation’s No. 1-ranked doubles team, and ended the year No. 2. The Demon Deacons duo reached the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA tournament, becoming the third pair from the program to do so. Mansouri and Seraphim were key contributors in the singles and doubles lineups for Wake Forest, helping guide the team to the top of the national team rankings during the regular season, an ACC regular-season title and reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

At the 2017 NCAA women’s singles championship, Minor defeated three Top 16 seeds en route to winning Michigan’s first national championship in tennis. The national championship earns Minor an automatic berth into the main draw of the 2017 US Open. Minor, a sophomore, ended her season on a nine-match win streak to post a 33-6 record and No. 9 national ranking. She is a two-time ITA All-American and All-Big Ten honoree.

Woolcock held down the No. 1 singles position for the Gators, and was a key contributor to the team’s national championship run. Woolcock parlayed her strong showing in the team portion of the postseason schedule into the NCAA singles tournament, advancing all the way to the final before falling to Michigan’s Brienne Minor. She was recently named the Honda Sport Award winner for tennis, and with that honor, becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2017 Honda Cup. Woolcock ended the year ranked No.5 in singles.

Di Lorenzo won two ITA National Championships in 2016, claiming the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championship and for the second straight year, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship. The sophomore dropped just two matches on the year, was named Big Ten Player of the Year and concluded the year as the nation’s No. 1-ranked player. Di Lorenzo paired with teammate Miho Kowase to win the 2017 NCAA doubles national championship, and the duo were instrumental in guiding the Buckeyes to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, and a semifinal appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Di Lorenzo and Kowase brought home Ohio State’s first NCAA national championship in women’s tennis. The Buckeye duo entered the NCAA tournament ranked 18th nationally, and they defeated three Top 10 teams along their route to the NCAA title. Kowase finished her career as Ohio State’s all-time leader in singles wins (112) and combined singles/doubles victories (213) and ranks second with 101 doubles wins. The duo finished the year ranked No. 3 and earned ITA All-America honors.

Pothoff and Routliffe finished the year ranked No. 2 nationally in doubles. The Crimson Tide pairing advanced to the final of the 2017 NCAA doubles tournament, where they fell in three sets to Ohio State’s Francesca Di Lorenzo and Miho Kowase. Pothoff and Routliffe earned ITA All-America honors, just the fourth pair in Alabama women’s tennis history to earn the accolade. Routliffe also earned All-America honors in singles.

Adachi and Sutjiadi secured the program’s first national title in tennis, besting UCLA’s Ena Shibahara and Jada Hart 6-3, 6-4 in the National Indoors final. The duo spent the year moving around the Top 5 of the national rankings, and ended the year at No. 4.

Frank posted a 24-2 record in 2016-17, with his only two defeats coming against Division I opponents at the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Frank qualified for National Indoors by winning the Division II singles title and Oracle Cup singles championship at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup. He became the third Cougar to earn the PacWest Player of the Year award, and helped guide the team to the quarterfinals of the 2017 NCAA Division II Tennis Championship. Frank was named a 2017 ITA All-American and wrapped up the year as the division’s top-ranked singles player.

The top-ranked doubles team in Division II, Peyrot and Dumont closed out their collegiate careers in style, defeating the nation’s No. 2-ranked doubles team of Ahmed Triki and Pierre Montrieui of Barry 8-3 in the Division II National Championship match between the two teams. Peyrot and Dumont’s victory helped the Argonauts claim a 5-2 victory and secure the program’s fourth national championship, and second in the last four years. Peyrot and Dumont won the Division II doubles title at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup and held the No. 1 national ranking all season.

The ITA Senior Player of the Year, Zhang completed the 2017 season as the nation’s No. 1-ranked singles and doubles player – the third consecutive year she’s accomplished the feat. She ended her career with 54 consecutive wins at singles and was undefeated in back-to-back seasons in both singles and doubles. Zhang’s career singles record was 77-3 and 90-6 in doubles. She is a four-time ITA All-American and PacWest Player of the Year.

For the second consecutive year, Zhang and Wen went undefeated in doubles competition and concluded the season as the nation’s top-ranked doubles team. The duo were recognized as ITA All-Americans.

Cuba became the first Panther in program history to win the NCAA Division III singles national title, and he followed that feat up by pairing with William de Quant to secure the program’s first NCAA Division III doubles national title. Cuba is the 10th player since 1976 to win both the NCAA singles and doubles titles in the same year. The ITA All-American was runner-up at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup in the Division III singles draw, and he was named the 2017 NESCAC Player of the Year. Cuba concluded his sophomore campaign with a 29-3 record and No. 1 national singles ranking.

Cuba and de Quant were 2017 First Team All-NESCAC honorees, and finished the season with a 24-6 record, including a 20-4 mark in dual matches. They took down the No. 1 seeded team of Brian Grodecki and Alex Taylor of Williams in the NCAA final 6-4, 6-2.

Chong is the first player in NCAA Division III Women’s Individual Tournament history to win three consecutive singles titles. She also captured her first national championship in doubles to become the first player since 2004 to win both NCAA titles in the same year. Chong is a two-time ITA All-American and NESCAC Player of the Year. She posted an 18-1 record in both singles and doubles, was 13-0 in singles in dual matches and ended the year as the nation’s No. 1-ranked player.

Chong and Yu are the first NCAA doubles champions in program history. The duo defeated No. 2 seed Nicole Tan and Lindsay Brown of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match. Chong and Yu finished a perfect 22-0 in doubles action and closed out the year ranked No. 1.

Konfederak helped guide the Grizzlies to their fourth straight NAIA National Championship in 2017. Georgia Gwinnett went a perfect 23-0 on the season and currently hold a 55-match unbeaten streak. Konfederak won the NAIA singles championship at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup, and teamed up with Jordan Cox to repeat as NAIA and Oracle Cup champions in doubles, earning a trip to the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

After beginning the year playing with Jordan Cox and winning the NAIA and Oracle Cup doubles titles at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup, Konfederak partnered up with Gilad Berman in the spring and the duo went on to earn the national No. 1 ranking by the end of the season. The duo were a key component to Georgia Gwinnett’s success, as the Grizzlies went 23-0, increased their win streak to 55 matches and claimed their fourth consecutive NAIA National Championship.

Gbaguidi had an outstanding 2016-17 season. The junior won the NAIA and Oracle Cup singles titles at the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup, earning a spot in the main draw of the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. She went 19-0 against non-Division I competition and was also 17-3 in doubles with teammate Paige Murdock. Gbaguidi was named an ITA All-American, NAIA All-American and Sun Conference Player of the Year. She held the national No. 1 singles ranking all season.

Bianco and Heino won 25 matches in 2016-17, including 20 during the dual match portion of the schedule. The duo went undefeated in the Sun Conference and finished the season on a five-match win streak, while also posting a 5-3 record against nationally-ranked opponents.

Calvo captured an NJCAA national championship in singles (Flight 1) in 2017. He also earned a national title in doubles with partner Enrique Pardo. Calvo’s strong play helped the men’s team to a runner-up finish in the NJCAA National Team Championship. In the Fall of 2016, Calvo won the Southwest regional title in the 2016 ITA Regional Championships Presented by Oracle, earning him a spot in the 2016 ITA Oracle Cup, where he finished runner-up to teammate Jorge Martinez.

Calvo (as mentioned above) wasn’t the only member of the Tyler JC team to win a singles national title, as Pardo also took home medalist honors out of Flight 3. The duo then teamed up to win the NJCAA national doubles title. The ITA All-Americans concluded the year as the division’s No. 1-ranked doubles team.

Asghar earned an NJCAA national title in singles, and helped guide the women’s team to its 18th national championship in women’s tennis, and the athletic program’s 55th national title overall.

Chisahaki and Detlava won the program’s first NJCAA National Championship in 2017. Playing at No. 1 doubles, the duo defeated ASA Miami 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Chishaki and Detlava’s performance helped guide St. Petersburg to a third-place finish in the team standings at the NJCAA National Championships.