June 15, 2012

ITA Press Release

SKILLMAN, N.J. - Stanford's Nicole Gibbs and USC's Steve Johnson have been named the 2012 Campbell/ITA National College Players of the Year, the ITA announced today. Additionally, Gibbs and doubles partner Mallory Burdette were named the Campbell/ITA National Women's Doubles Team of the Year, while Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola of Ohio State were honored on the men's side.

The Campbell/ITA National College Player of the Year awards are given to one male and one female singles player who has had the most outstanding year in college tennis. The collegiate players will be recognized at the 2012 International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, July 14 in Newport, R.I. during the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.

Stanford's Nicole Gibbs closed out the 2011-12 season in impressive fashion, winning her final 17 singles matches to finish with an overall singles record of 41-5 in her sophomore campaign. She put together a solid fall season that included claiming the 2011 USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Singles Championship. Gibbs picked up her level of play for the post-season in the spring, capturing the 2012 Pac-12 Singles Championship en route to be named the 2012 Pac-12 Women's Player of the Year. In the NCAA Women's Singles Championship, Gibbs defeated Florida's Allie Will, the player ranked No. 1 in the Campbell/ITA Division I Women's Singles Rankings heading into the NCAA Championships, in the semifinals. She outlasted teammate and doubles partner Burdette in the finals 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to win the 2012 NCAA Women's Singles crown. Gibbs earned ITA All-America honors for both singles and doubles, making her a four-time ITA All-American.

Steve Johnson capped off a stellar four-year career at USC fittingly: taking home the 2012 NCAA Men's Singles Championship. Johnson heads into the pro ranks as one of the most decorated players in college tennis history, helping his team to four consecutive NCAA Men's Team Championships to go along with is back-to-back NCAA Men's Singles Championships. He ended his career on a 72-match singles winning streak, including a perfect 37-0 in his senior season. Johnson was named the 2012 Pac-12 Men's Player of the Year, his second season to be chosen for that award. He was also selected as the 2012 ITA/Farnsworth National Senior Player of the Year honoree. Johnson finishes his career as a seven-time ITA All-American after earning both singles and doubles honors this season. He was also named the Campbell/ITA Men's Player of the Year last season, becoming just the fourth men's player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.

Stanford has now produced the last three NCAA Women's Doubles Champions, as Mallory Burdette and Nicole Gibbs were able to defeat Georgia's Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson 6-2, 6-4 in the final to give the Cardinals its 15th collegiate doubles title in program history. Burdette also claimed the NCAA Women's Doubles title last season when she teamed up with Hilary Barte to do so. Burdette and Gibbs finished the year with a solid record of 35-5, including 18-2 in dual action. The duo played a total of 22 matches against ranked tandems this season, compiling an impressive 18 wins against just four losses. Burdette and Gibbs also started out the season on a positive note, taking home the 2011 ITA/Riviera Women's All-American Doubles title in the fall.

Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola were simply a dominating force in collegiate men's doubles this season. The duo accomplished something no other tandem had been able to pull off in previous years, claiming the three major collegiate championships in the same season - the ITA Men's All-American Championship, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship, and the NCAA Championship. The pair spent the entire spring atop the Campbell/ITA Division I Men's Doubles Rankings following the two major titles in the fall. Buchanan and Rola finished off the triple crown in Athens, Ga. with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Texas Tech's Raony Carvalho and Gonzalo Escobar in the NCAA Doubles Championship match. The tandem went 36-4 on the season overall, with half of those victories coming against ranked competition.

Past ITA National Players of the Year:

Men	 	 	Women
2012	Steve Johnson, USC		2012	Nicole Gibbs, Stanford
2011	Steve Johnson, USC		2011	Jana Juricova, California
2010	Robert Farah, USC		2010	Irina Falconi, Georgia Tech
2009	Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Ok. State		2009	Mallory Cecil, Duke
2008	Somdev Devvarman, Virginia		2008	Amanda McDowell, Ga. Tech
2007	Somdev Devvarman, Virginia		2007	Audra Cohen, Miami (Fla.)
2006	Benjamin Kohlloeffel, UCLA		2006	Audra Cohen, Miami (Fla.)
2005	Benedikt Dorsch, Baylor		2005	Megan Bradley, Miami (Fla.)
2004	Benedikt Dorsch, Baylor		2004	Amber Liu, Stanford
2003	Amer Delic, Illinois		2003	Amber Liu, Stanford
2002	Matias Boeker, Georgia		2002	Bea Bielik, Wake Forest
2001	Matias Boeker, Georgia		2001	Laura Granville, Stanford
2000	Alex Kim, Stanford		2000	Laura Granville, Stanford
1999	James Blake, Harvard		1999	Zuzana Lesenarova, San Diego
1998	Bob Bryan, Stanford		1998	Vanessa Webb, Duke
1997	Thomas Dupre, Mississippi State		1997	Lilia Osterloh, Stanford
1996	Cecil Mamiit, USC		1996	Jill Craybas, Florida
1995	Sargis Sargsian, Arizona State		1995	Keri Phebus, UCLA
1994	Mark Merklein, Florida		1994	Angela Lettiere, Georgia
1993	Chris Woodruff, Tennessee		1993	Lisa Raymond, Florida
1992	Alex O'Brien, Stanford		1992	Lisa Raymond, Florida
1991	Al Parker, Georgia		1991	Sandra Birch, Stanford
1990	Steve Bryan, Texas		1990	Debbie Graham, Stanford
1989	MaliVai Washington, Michigan		1989	Tami Whitlinger, Stanford
1988	Robbie Weiss, Pepperdine		1988	Halle Cioffi, Florida
1987	Richey Reneberg, SMU		1987	Patty Fendick, Stanford
1986	Rick Leach, USC		1986	Caroline Kuhlman, USC
1985	Mikael Pernfors, Georgia		1985	Gretchen Rush, Trinity (Texas)
1984	Paul Annacone, Tennessee		1984	Gretchen Rush, Trinity (Texas)
1983	Greg Holmes, Utah		1983	Beth Herr, USC
1982	Marcel Freeman, UCLA		1982	Vicki Nelson, Rollins
1981	Tim Mayotte, Stanford
1980	Peter Rennert, Stanford
Past ITA National Doubles Teams of the Year:
Men
2012	Chase Buchanan/Blaz Rola, Ohio State
2011	John-Patrick Smith/Boris Conkic, Tennessee
2010	Reid Carleton/Henrique Cunha, Duke
2009	Davey Sandgren/John-Patrick Smith, Tennessee
2008	Robert Farah/Kaes Van't Hof, USC
2007	Luis Flores/John Isner, Georgia
2006	Kevin Anderson/Ryan Rowe, Illinois
2005	John Isner/Antonio Ruiz, Georgia
2004	Richard Barker/William Barker, Rice
2003	Richard Barker/William Barker, Rice
2002	Andrew Colombo/Marc Kovacs, Auburn
2001	Matias Boeker/Travis Parrott, Georgia
2000	Geoff Abrams/Alex Kim, Stanford
Women
2012	Mallory Burdette/Nicole Gibbs, Stanford
2011	Hilary Barte/Mallory Burdette, Stanford
2010	Natalie Pluskota/Caitlin Whoriskey, Tennessee
2009	Renata Kucerkova/Anastasia Petukhova, Fresno State
2008	Riza Zalameda/Tracy Lin, UCLA
2007	Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long, North Carolina
2006	Alice Barnes/Anne Yelsey, Stanford
2005	Alice Barnes/Erin Burdette, Stanford
2004	Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette, Stanford
2003	Christina Fusano/Raquel Kops-Jones, California
2002	Lauren Kalvaria/Gabriela Lastra, Stanford
2001	Whitney Laiho/Jessica Lehnhoff, Florida
2000	Claire Curran/Amy Jensen, California
 

About the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the USTA, and the ITA Rankings for men's and women's tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship. The official ITA web site is www.itatennis.com.

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