Champaign Futures, Coaching Hires, Transfer Updates, College ATP/WTA Rankings

Tagged with: College ATP Rankings, College On Tour, College WTA Rankings, Florida State, Jaime SanchezCanamares, Lauren Embree, Pepperdine, Transfers

Several players with college ties have roared into the quarterfinals at the USA F24 Futures in Champaign, Illinois. Recent Valparaiso graduate Jeffrey Schorsch picked up his first ATP point on Tuesday in a two-minute 1-0 retirement win over former Illinois No. 1 Farris Gosea. Schorsch added two more ATP points on Wednesday after he defeated another former Illinois No. 1 with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 win over Dennis Nevolo. Schorsch’s next opponent will be the No. 3 seed Dominik Koepfer after the Tulane graduate defeated UCLA rising senior Martin Redlicki in the first round and American Alexios Halebian in the second round. 

Harrison Adams started off the week in the qualifying draw but now the former Aggie has found himself in his third-career quarterfinal after defeating former Buckeye Hunter Callahan and the top seed Australia’s Luke Saville. On Wednesday afternoon against Saville, Adams trailed 6-3, 4-2 but he rattled off five of the next six games to take the set 7-5. In the third set Adams trailed 5-3 but he won 16 of the final 21 points to close it out 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. Adams quarterfinal opponent will be ATP #935 Ricardo Rodriguez-Pace. 

Illinois rising sophomore Zeke Clark celebrated his 19th birthday by rolling into his second quarterfinal of the year after defeating ATP #544 Evan Song 6-3, 6-1. Clark will meet the second seed ATP #317 Jose Rubin Statham on Thursday.

The other quarterfinal will be an all-USC Trojan affair with rising sophomore Brandon Holt taking on 2015 graduate Eric Johnson. Holt defeated his current teammate and doubles partner Riley Smith in the first round and then in the second round he dispatched the eighth seed ATP #612 Genaro Olivieri 6-3, 7-5. Johnson, who used his pre-injury protected ranking to get into the field, edged Damon Gooch in the first round and then beat local favorite Jared Hiltzik 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. 

Mike Cation has been running the tournament’s Twitter account and has been posting video clips and post-match interviews so check that out. 

 

{loadposition ads}

 

Pepperdine women’s head coach Per Nilsson named Lauren Embree as the new women’s assistant coach. Embree, who is currently ranked 388 in the latest WTA rankings, played at Florida from 2010 to 2013 and was a five-time ITA All-American. Here are some quotes from Pepperdine’s release:

“I am very excited to join the Pepperdine family,” said Embree. “I want to thank Per Nilsson, Dr. Steve Potts and Karina Herold for this amazing opportunity to begin coaching at such a top program. I am looking forward to be able to learn from one of the best coaches in the country, and help this amazing group of girls become the best they can be on and off the court.“

“I’m very excited to bring a person like Lauren to Pepperdine,” said Nilsson. “Lauren’s resume speaks for itself. Her experience as a top-notch college player and a professional will be an invaluable asset to our team. Lauren has the same drive, dedication and character I look for in the players I recruit. I look forward to working with her and I know our players will benefit greatly from Lauren’s experience and knowledge.”

 

 

Florida State women’s head coach Jennifer Hyde announced the hiring of Jaime Sanchez-Canamares as the Noles new women’s assistant. Sanchez-Canamares, who played collegiately at Fresno Pacific, Oklahoma Christian and Embry-Riddle from 2011 to 2015, was a volunteer assistant for the Oklahoma State women’s team last season. Below are some quotes from FSU’s release:

“I want to thank Coach Hyde for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the Florida State program,” Sanchez-Cañamares said. “She has created a tradition of excellence and I am humbled to learn from her as we take this program forward- I am eager to start building relationships with the players and help bring this team to new heights.”

“Sanchez-Cañamares is one of the most gifted up-and-comers in college coaching right now, and his impact will be felt immediately,” Hyde said. “His capacity on court, his tennis IQ, and his ability to connect with players will be a tremendous asset for our program, not to mention the national and global recruiting contacts he brings. We are very excited to welcome Jaime and his wife Veronica to the Seminole Family.”

 

 

The summer months may be relatively quiet but there’s always plenty of players on the move. I’ve been updating my transfer page over the last week and with the help from others I currently have 68 transfers listed with 39 of those being women and the other 29 men. I’ll keep adding to the list until school starts in the fall so if there are others that I’m missing let me know (bobbyk@collegetennistoday.com).

 

 

While Roger Federer jumped up to No. 3 after winning Wimbledon there were several players with college ties that also made some jumps. The highest ranked female player with college ties is former UCLA Bruin Jennifer Brady who jumped up 13 spots to No. 80. The female who made the biggest leap in the top 500 is former UNC Tar Heel Sanaz Marand who rose 57 spots to No. 471. The highest ranked current college player is Ohio State’s Francesca Di Lorenzo who checks in at No. 303. 

Former Georgia Bulldog John Isner remains the highest ranked male player at No. 21 while Ohio State’s Mikael Torpegaard is the highest ranked current player at No. 313. If you are a College Tennis Today subscriber visit my rankings page to see a list of all the players with college ties in the ATP Top 1000 and WTA Top 500.