Cavaliers Awarded Wild Cards into the Charlottesville Challenger Main Draw
Story Links
Oct. 31, 2015
ATP Challenger Tour Website | Singles Draw/Results | Doubles Draw/Results |
Order of Play | Live Streaming Video
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The United States Tennis Association announced that Virginia men’s tennis players sophomore Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Ca.) and seniors Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) and Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) have been awarded wildcard entries into the main draw of the 2015 Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger, the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger event taking place October 31-November 8 at The Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Live streaming video of the matches will be available through the ATP Challenger website.
The USTA also awarded wild cards to the doubles teams of Styslinger and junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Shane and junior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.).
Shane will be the first to compete, playing his opening-round singles match against Sekou Bangoura on Monday evening at the Boars Head Sports Club.
Altamirano earned a preseason ranking of No. 27 in singles for the 2015-2016 season. Over the summer he played in five ITF Futures events in Italy and also reached the semifinals of the Charlottesville Futures, Bolzano Futures and the Claremont USTA ProClassic. At 17-years old, he was also the youngest main draw player at the 2013 US Open.
Styslinger is both an accomplished singles and doubles player. The 2013 NCAA Doubles Champion won the ITA All-American Doubles title earlier this month. During his collegiate career, Styslinger has been ranked as high as No. 1 nationally in doubles and No. 5 in singles, amassing a 74-21 doubles record and a 61-20 singles mark.
Shane, the 2015 NCAA Singles Champion, is ranked second nationally in both ITA Preseason singles and doubles rankings. Shane won his first pro singles title at the Costa Mesa Pro Classic Futures tournament on Sept. 27 after winning the doubles title at the CarX Futures of Champaign (Ill.), partnering with his older brother, Justin, on Aug. 15.
The doubles team of Shane and Corinteli is ranked second with Styslinger and Kwiatkowski ranked 13th. Shane and Corinteli won the doubles title at the inaugural Oracle/ITA Masters Tournament in September and Styslinger and Kwiatkowski won the ITA Men’s All-American Doubles Championship.
The Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger benefiting Special Olympics Virginia was first held in 2009 and is the first of three consecutive indoor hard court USTA Pro Circuit events held as part of the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. The tournament is organized by The Boar’s Head Sports Club, with proceeds benefiting Special Olympics Virginia.
With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 36 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. John Isner, Maria Sharapova, Sam Querrey, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori, Victoria Azarenka and Andy Murray are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.