Nine Former Players Make Initial 2015 ITA Rankings

Nine former DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships participants were ranked in the Top 100 in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of 2015. The list of ranked players includes six former boys participants and four former girls participants.

Kourtney Keegan
Photo Courtesy of Florida Athletics

Kourtney Keegan

The Blessed Trinity graduate and University of Florida sophomore opens the 2015 season ranked No. 26 in singes. The former All-Tournament Team selection is looking to follow up her 2014 ITA Southeast Region Rookie Player of the Year honors. Keegan is the only former player to be ranked in both singles and doubles. The sophomore teamed with Brooke Austin to achieve a career-high ranking of 7th in the country after capturing the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championship this fall. Keegan was also ranked 47th in the country with teammate Belinda Woolcock.

Abigail Owens

Louisiana State University sophomore Abigial Owens opens the 2015 season with a No. 74 national ranking after a 9-4 singles record in the fall. The Peachtree Ridge alumni has a 24-18 career record at LSU including a semi-final finish at the Jack Kramer Invitational and a Round of 16 finish at the ITA Southern Regional Championship this fall. 

Cassie Mercer

The Huntington graduate and two-time National High School Tennis All-American begins her freshman season at the University of Virginia with a No. 11 national doubles ranking. Mercer and teammate Skylar Morton recorded a 11-3 doubles winning the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional doubles title to earn an automatic berth to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

Jared Hiltzik
Photo Courtesy of Illinois Athletics

Jared Hiltzik

University of Illinois junior and 2012 DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships MVP Jared Hiltzik begins the 2015 season ranked 31st in the country. Hiltzik a two-time NCAA Tournament selection finshed as runner-up in the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championships and was an at-large selection for the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The New Trier graduate finished his sophomore season as a First-Team All-Big Ten and All-American selection.

Aron Hiltzik

The younger Hiltzik begins his freshman season at the University of Illinois ranked 62nd in the nation in singles. Aron, 2012 DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championships All-Tournament Team selection, came to Illinois as the top ranked recruit in the Class of 2014. Hiltzik knocked off a pair of ranked players in route to a semi-final finish at the ITA Midwest Regionals. The 18 year old New Trier alumni has already earned a pair of ATP points with three wins on the professional circuit.

Beck Pennington

The University of Kentucky junior has made an impact for the Wildcats since he arrived on campus. Pennington, a Greenwood alumni, is ranked 92nd in the first ITA rankings of the 2015. Pennington won the White singles draw at the Fab Four in Durham, N.C. this fall and advance to the Round of 16 at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships.

Ziqi Wang
The Vestavia Hills graduate begins his freshman season at Yale ranked 95th in the country. The top ranked recruit in Alabama last year Wang already has a runner-up finish at the Connecticut State Championships and a Round of 16 finish at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships. Wang's fall results include a win over Dennis Nguyen of Harvard, the No. 18 ranked player in the country.

Chase Perez-Blanco
The University of Florida freshman opens his first spring in Gainesville as half of the 50th ranked doubles team in the nation. The Gulliver Prep alumni finished his fall season with five straight doubles wins at the Florida Invitational. In singles action Perez-Blanco finished as a semi-finalist at the 2014 USTA Collegiate Clay Court Invitational.

Bradford Zitsch

The Rock Bridge graduate and University of Nebraska junior begins his 2015 season ranked 54th in the national doubles rankings. The 2014 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar teamed with Dusty Boyer to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rice Invitational and ITA Central Regional.