Sept. 9, 2015
Flushing Meadow, N.Y. – While the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team gears up to begin its fall tournament season, recent grad and Vandy great, Gonzales Austin, will represent the `Dores one last time as he competes in the second annual American Collegiate Invitational at the 2015 US Open, held Sept. 10-12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, N.Y.
As one of the highest ranked seniors in the class of 2015, the Miami native is set to compete against seven of the top American collegiate tennis players in the country. Stakes are high as the winner of the ACI has the chance to play on one the biggest stages in tennis, the 2016 U.S. Open.
With the draws released Sept. 7th, the four-time first team All-American comes in as the fourth seed. Austin’s first-round opponent comes in unseeded No. 22 Winston Lin, a senior from Columbia.
Austin and Lin have battled in tournament competition before, as the duo faced one another most recently in the 2014 NCAA Singles Round of 32. The Commodore came out of a three set battle victorious, defeating the then-sophomore 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Two weeks prior, Austin fell to Lin in three sets in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Tournament.
Joining the 2015 SEC Player of the Year in NYC is current Vanderbilt women’s tennis junior, Sydney Campbell. Campbell, a Franklin, Tenn. native, was selected on the women’s side as a tournament alternate. This is the first year that Vanderbilt has been represented at the American Collegiate Invitational.
The men’s/women’s American Collegiate Invitational champions will receive main draw wild card entries into the 2016 US Open if either is ranked No. 120 or better by the US Open entry deadline next summer. Otherwise, the winners will receive qualifying wild cards. The champions will also get wild cards into two USTA Pro Circuit events, while each runner-up will get one.
For Commodore fans in the New York area, admission on the first day (Thursday, Sept. 10) is free.