BERKELEY – California's Maegan Manasse and Amanda Augustus will represent the United States in the 10th annual Master'U BNP Paribas international collegiate tournament that will run from Friday, Dec. 4, Sunday, Dec. 6, in Rennes, France. The tournament consists of eight teams and will take place on the Tennis Club Saint-Grégoire indoor courts.
This marks the first selection to the event for Manasse, who is ranked fourth in the ITA preseason singles poll and, with Denise Starr, stands third in the ITA doubles rankings. Augustus has been a part of the U.S. coaching staff the past three tournaments, and the United States has won the tournament title four straight times. The Americans defeated host France, 4-1, in last year's final.
Besides the United States and France, the other teams participating in the 2015 Master'U BNP Paribas are Belgium, China, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Russia.
“Obviously I'm very excited to be honored to represent our country and coach this USA team of very elite college players, of top Americans, at this international competition in France,” Augustus said. “I've done it for a few years now, and I'm very excited to have a fellow Golden Bear on the squad this year. Maegan has worked very hard and earned this position, and I'm happy to see Cal represented at this event with a player as well as a coach. We're looking forward to the competition.
“The players that we've brought previously to this event have usually gone on to very successful spring seasons, and that is partly why I really enjoy coaching at this event. It's a great developmental event for our young American players, who get great exposure to international competition.”
“I'm beyond excited because I've heard it's a great experience,” Manasse said “I've never been to Europe before. I'm excited to play on this team even though it's not Cal. Playing for the United States makes it even better.”
Manasse has posted another strong fall. The Cal junior's accomplishments include capturing the national doubles title with Starr at the Riveria/ITA Women's All-American Championships, reaching the singles semifinals at the All-American, and more recently reaching the doubles semifinals and the singles round of 16 at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Manasse also earned the NIIC Sportsmanship Award.
The Redondo Beach, California, product also competed in singles in a pair of prestigious tournaments in September, when she played in the second annual American Collegiate Invitational at the U.S. Open and in the inaugural Oracle/ITA Masters. She has a 10-3 singles record that includes winning the top-flight championship at the Cal Nike Fall Invitational in October.
Boise State men's coach Greg Patton joins Augustus on the U.S. coaching staff. The U.S. women's players include Florida's second-ranked Brooke Austin and Virginia's eighth-ranked Danielle Collins. The U.S. men's players include UCLA's third-ranked Mackenzie McDonald, Georgia's 17th-ranked Austin Smith and Stanford's 20th-ranked Thomas Fawcett.
The draws for the tournament will come out later this week.
For more information, please visit the tournament's website here or the tournament's Facebook page here.