The USTA announced today the top American collegians selected to represent the United States in the sixth annual Master’U BNP Paribas, an international collegiate team competition held December 8-11 in Rouen, France.  The event features eight teams composed of college and university players from around the world. 

 

The U.S., which defeated France to win the 2009 title and then lost to France in the 2010 final, will be competing for the fourth consecutive year against a talented field that includes teams from Belgium, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Spain.  The teams will compete in a best-of-seven format consisting of two men’s and two women’s singles matches, one men’s and one women’s doubles match, and one mixed doubles match.  

 

 For the third consecutive year, the team will be coached by Greg Patton, the head coach of the Boise State University men’s tennis team, and Mark Guilbeau, the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Virginia, who will be coaching for the second straight year.  Roster spots for the team were selected by a committee of USTA Player Development and coaches and staff from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

 

Capra, a freshman from Ellicott City, Md., reached the third round at the 2010 US Open after upsetting then world No. 20 Aravane Rezai in the second round, and is the top-ranked freshman in the ITA Preseason Division I rankings.  Cako, a sophomore from Brier, Wash., reached the final at the 2011 ITA/Riviera All-American Championships, and is No. 11 in the ITA Preseason Division I rankings.  Embree, a junior from Marco Island, Fla., won the title-clinching match for Florida at the 2011 NCAA Championships and is No. 5 in the ITA Preseason Division I singles rankings.  Embree was a member of the 2011 USTA Collegiate Team, an elite training program funded by the USTA to provide top American collegians with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment.

 

Jenkins, a junior from College Park, Ga., was named to the 2011 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Cavaliers to its first-ever men’s final.  Nguyen, a senior from Oxnard, Calif., won the title-clinching match for the Trojans for the second consecutive year at the 2011 NCAA Championships.  Spencer, a senior from Ponce de Leon, Fla., reached the final at the 2011 ITA All-American Championships and is No. 6 in the ITA Preseason Division I rankings.