Two Gator Grads to Compete at Inaugural US Open Event
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 | Women's Tennis
Two 2014 graduates from the Gator women's tennis team will represent the Orange and Blue at the inaugural American Collegiate Invitational, which will take place September 4-6 at the USTA Billie Jean King Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Alexandra Cercone and Olivia Janowicz were two of eight women invited to play in a singles tournament during the second week of the US Open, with the men's and women's winner each receiving a wild card into a future pro event.
The invitational is open only to American players and will feature men's and women's fields of six players who are still in college plus two who have exhausted their college eligibility this year. Cercone and Janowicz concluded their Gator tennis careers at the closing of the 2013-14 season.
In the first round, Cercone will face Julia Elbaba, a junior at the University of Virginia. Janowicz is slated to take on 2014 NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins who is also a junior on the Virginia Cavaliers women's tennis team. Janowicz's match will be the first of five played on Court 6 beginning at 11 a.m. Cercone will play the third match of that court. Here is today's full schedule of US Open events.
To be eligible to compete, the collegians must meet the following criteria:
· They are among the six members of the USTA Collegiate Team, who are selected based on results, Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) honors and pro rankings.
· They are the top two graduating seniors or the top two players who either turned professional or have exhausted their college eligibility in 2013-14, according to the ITA's final singles rankings.
· If the top two players who have exhausted their college eligibility are already on the USTA Collegiate Team or if the six spots reserved for players still in college have not been filled, invitations will be extended based on the ITA's final singles rankings.
Here are Cercone and Janowicz's final Gator bios.
