Brandi Named Coach Of USTA Summer Collegiate Team
4/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 16, 2010
WHITE PLAINS, New York - Baylor men's tennis assistant coach Chris Brandi will serve as a coach for the 2010 Men's Summer Collegiate Team for a second consecutive year the United States Tennis Association announced on Thursday.
"This announcement shows Chris is well respected across all levels in tennis," Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said. "It is a big deal that the USTA recognizes what a quality coach he is and trusts the future of U.S. tennis with him over the summer. I know they felt like he did a great job last year and it is kind of unprecedented for them to bring somebody back two years in a row, but I think that it is a reflection of how well Chris is respected in the coaching community."
The first-year Baylor assistant will lead the elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players that began in 1996 and is funded by the USTA. The program is designed to provide players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the summer months.
Along with Brandi, the University of Alabama's Bo Hodge will serve as the men's team coaches, while Jamea Jackson from Oklahoma State University and Julia Scaringe from the University of Notre Dame will coach the women's team.
Brandi becomes the latest Baylor assistant to coach the summer collegiate team, after former Baylor assistant and current Maryland head coach Kyle Spencer spent the 2008 summer coaching the USTA team.
"It reflects positively on our program that our assistants are being given this opportunity and I think it shows how well respected they are," Knoll said. "It ended up translating itself into a head job for Kyle and it shows that Chris' future is very bright. It also shows that our players are getting the best coaching available everyday here at Baylor."
The teams, which will feature 12 participants each for the second consecutive year, will be named after the NCAA Championships in May. Team members will be selected based on performance at those championships as well as the ITA All-Americans and National Indoor Championships, and the final ITA National Rankings.
Current pros who are past participants include James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Audra Cohen, Amer Delic, Laura Granville, John Isner, Jesse Levine, Todd Paul, Sam Warburg, and Jesse Witten.
"Chris Brandi did an outstanding job last summer working with our college players," said Jay Berger, Head of Men's Tennis, USTA Player Development. "We are really excited to have him back and glad to welcome Bo Hodge on board. Their combined experience and energy will positively impact our top collegians."
Brandi, 27, also serves as Assistant Director of Tennis at Baylor. Prior to his arrival at Baylor, Brandi served one year as an assistant coach at Wake Forest, where he helped lead the Demon Deacons to the ACC Tournament final, and coached the doubles team of Cory Parr and Steve Forman to the ITA National Indoor championship. After finishing his collegiate career at the University of Florida in 2006, Brandi immediately went into coaching, working with Laura Granville and 2005 US Open Junior Champion Ryan Sweeting. While at Florida, Brandi helped lead the team to a No. 1 national ranking, and earned All-American status in doubles. Brandi is the son of Andy Brandi, who coached Florida's women's team for 17 years.
This summer, for the second straight year, USTA Player Development will host two Pro Tour Transition camps - one for the men, one for the women - for the selected players. The men's camp will be held June 21-24 on clay courts in Boca Raton, Fla., while the women's camp will be conducted June 27 - July 1 on hard courts in Boca Raton.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 740,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 90-plus Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
