July 31, 2002
Jesse Witten, only the third freshman to ever compete in an NCAA Tournament Final, was named to the 2002 USA Tennis Collegiate Team, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced July 23. The team is made up of the 12 top American men’s and women’s collegiate tennis players.
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Also, the ITA announced today the 2002 Scholar-Athlete award winners. Included on that list are recent UK grads Johan Grunditz and Gustav Pousette. Pousette, who has also won a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA and was named to the Verizon Academic All-American At-Large First Team, graduated in May with a 4.0 grade-point average and a degree in foreign language and international economics. Grunditz rounded out his Kentucky career with a 3.709 GPA and a degree in finance.
In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status at the NCAA and NAIA level, a player must meet the following criteria: 1) be a junior or senior in school, 2.) be a varsity letterwinner, and 3.) have a GPA of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00) scale.
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Witten, the ITA National Rookie of the Year and Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, is one of only six males chosen for the 2002 USA Tennis Collegiate Team. The team is an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players and administered by the USTA and ITA. It is designed to provide players with valuable exposure to the professional circuit in a team-oriented environment. Members of this year’s teams are scheduled to participate in select events on the USTA Professional Circuit this summer.
The program is funded by the USTA, and the players were chosen by a USTA and ITA Selection Committee with the following criteria: U.S. citizen, dual match record, final Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Ranking, performance in ITA national events and sportsmanship.
2002 USA Tennis Collegiate Team
Men
Name – College
Amer Delic – Illinois
John Paul Fruttero – California
Bobby Reynolds – Vanderbilt
Brandon Wagner – Georgia
Todd Widom – Miami (Fla.)
Jesse Witten – Kentucky
Women
Name – College
Bea Bielik – Wake Forest
Vilmarie Castellvi – Tennessee
Lauren Kalvaria – Stanford
Gabriela Lastra – Stanford
Jessica Lehnhoff – Florida
Jewel Peterson – Southern California
