Duke's King & Johnson Head To China With Collegiate All-Star Tennis Team

June 11, 2004

SKILLMAN, N.J. - The 2004 American Express Collegiate All-Star Tennis Team will arrive in China this Sunday for a weeklong series of clinics, matches and cultural exchanges hosted by the Chinese Tennis Association. The team consists of ten players and three coaches selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) to represent the United States. In addition to American Express, Cathay Pacific Airlines, adidas and Tennis Magazine (China) are also sponsoring the tour.

The American Express Collegiate All-Star Team will make stops in Hong Kong, Tianjin and Beijing. It will play in two exhibition matches, enjoy sightseeding excursions, and participate in several clinics for junior/high school level players and coaches conducted by the team's coaches, Doug MacCurdy of the College of Santa Fe (N.M.), Louise Gengler of Princeton, and Stan Smith, the former U.S. Open, Wimbledon and NCAA champ who is the team's honorary coach. (schedule details listed below release)

The American Express Collegiate All-Star Team consists of the following 10 players: (men) Lester Cook of Texas A&M, Phillip King of Duke, Rob Steckley of Lander (S.C.), Brian Wilson of Illinois, Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State, and (women) Zsofia Golopencza of Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.), Amanda Johnson of Duke, Jennifer Magley of Florida, Jennifer McGaffigan of Illinois and Alicia Salas of Notre Dame. All eight of the Division I players on the team have been ranked in the ITA's top 20 in singles this season and Steckley and Golopencza have been ranked No. 1 at the Division II level. Illinois' Wilson and Ohio State's Wurtzman were recently named co-winners of the Farnsworth/ITA National Senior Player of the Year award. Duke's King and Johnson both completed their careers as four-time ITA All-Americans.

The trip is being hosted by the Chinese Tennis Association and the U.S. squad will be competing against teams selected by the CTA, consisting of the best young players in China, ages 17-23. The matches as well as other tour activities will be carried on the "Beijing TV" cable channel.

"This sponsorship reinforces American Express' longtime commitment to China, and represents our tradition of contributing to and supporting cultural and leisure events in China and around the world," said Dave Keung, American Express' Vice President and Head of Global Establishment Services for China. "We are delighted to play our part in promoting tennis activity and fostering cultural exchange in one of the most culture-rich, fast-growing and important countries in the world."

"We are very appreciative to American Express and the Chinese Tennis Association for making this trip possible," said ITA Executive Director David A Benjamin, who will also travel with the group to China. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our ITA All Stars to showcase American college tennis in one of the most exciting and important parts of the world."

Last summer an ITA All-Star Team helped Waseda University celebrate its 100th anniversary of tennis by competing in two exhibition matches in Tokyo, Japan. The U.S. squad went 2-0 on that trip, the first by an American collegiate tennis team to Asia in over 20 years.

As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which is based in Skillman, N.J., administers annually a number of national and regional championship events, 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.

Trip Highlights Friday, June 11: Stan Smith, David Benjamin and Doug MacCurdy conduct lecture on "Competitive and Recreational Tennis" in the modern lecture hall at Beijing University.

Saturday, June 12: Clinic in the Tennis Arena of Beihang University (sponsored by Tennis Magazine and Wilson, and the American Express Collegiate Tour); Online chat with sina.com (with Smith, MacCurdy and Benjamin)

Sunday, June 13: U.S. Players arrive in China

Monday, June 14th: Press Conference for team at Hotel King Wing

Wednesday, June 16: Exhibition team match at Tianjin Tennis Center Thursday, June 17: Sightseeing at Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

Friday, June 18: Exhibition Team Match at Xiannongtan Tennis Club

Saturday, June 19: Scrimmage with Chinese Tennis Association team at Xiannongtan Tennis Club

Sunday, June 20: Sightseeing at The Great Wall and Ming Tombs

Monday, June 21: Depart for U.S. ###