ITA Summer Circuit; Geatz Named Head Coach at Penn; Stineman, Zabor Featured in SI's Faces in the Crowd; Novikov in Halle Final

The ITA Summer Circuit begins next month at sites across the country, so junior and college players looking for more competitive opportunities this summer should find a local tournament that fits their schedule and sign up. I attended the final day of last year's tournament here in Kalamazoo (unfortunately this year it conflicts with the Clay Courts) and I was impressed by the relaxed atmosphere that still provided a competitive structure and plenty of match play. The article I wrote last year about the Summer Circuit can be found here. This year's schedule, which includes tournaments at 31 sites plus the National finals August 13-17 in Bloomington, Indiana, can be found at the ITA website.

The University of Pennsylvania announced yesterday that long-time University of Minnesota coach Dave Geatz had been hired to lead the men's tennis program. Geatz, who coached the Golden Gophers from 1988-2006, coached at the University of New Mexico prior to that. Recently, he spent a year as the assistant at Ohio State, and as men's and women's coach at Cornell. Geatz replaces Nik DeVore, who resigned in April.

Last week's Faces in the Crowd at Sports Illustrated featured NCAA champion Steve Johnson, this week two high school tennis players get their due. Alabama recruit Emily Zabor, who helped Walton High in Georgia win its eighth consecutive state title, and Stanford recruit Robert Stineman, who led Illinois' New Trier High to its second straight title, while winning his second consecutive state singles title, are featured here.

It's been very damp in England, setting back the completion of Wimbledon qualifying yet another day, but the juniors appear to be on schedule at the Grade 2 Gerry Weber in Germany, with the finals set for Saturday. Dennis Novikov of the US has reached the final, where he will play French Open boys finalist Dominic Thiem of Austria, seeded No. 2. The unseeded Novikov beat the No. 5 and No. 3 seeds in straight sets on the grass, but was fortunate to have his semifinal opponent, Dennis Novak of Austria, retire when leading 7-5.

Qualifying is nearly finished for Roehampton, the Grade 1 that precedes Wimbledon, with Emmett Egger and Catherine Harrison the only US players attempting to make the main draw. Egger lost his second round match, but Harrison has qualified. I don't know if they escaped the rain or played indoors, but results of the qualifying can be found at the LTA website (on the righthand side).

In the $10,000 Women's Pro Circuit event in Delaware, unseeded 16-year-old Denise Starr has reached the semifinals. On Saturday she will play No. 2 seed Lena Litvak for a place in the final.

For complete results, see the Pro Circuit page at usta.com.