LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Kentucky?s Jesse Witten has earned a spot on the 2005 USA Tennis Collegiate Summer Team, an elite training program for top American collegiate tennis players.

Witten earns his fourth-straight selection to the team, which is administered by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The program, consisting of six men and six women, provides players a chance to compete on the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment throughout the summer. Witten is the first player to receive selections to the team in four consecutive seasons.

The Naples, Fla., native completed his collegiate eligibility at Kentucky in May after reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men?s Singles Championships in College Station, Texas. By way of his top-five final singles ranking, Witten became one of only 11 four-time men?s singles All-Americans in the history of collegiate tennis.

Witten took full advantage of his spot on the USA Tennis Collegiate Summer Team a year ago, winning a USTA futures event in Joplin, Mo., before reaching the finals of a similar event in Peoria, Ill. Witten wrapped up the summer of 2004 with a run to the finals of Lexington?s Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships, in which he is expected to compete again later this month.

The USA Tennis Collegiate Team boasts such notable alumni as current professionals James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Jill Craybas, Justin Gimelstob and Laura Granville.