SKILLMAN, N.J. – Laredo Community College and the city of Laredo have one more reason to be proud of Palomino tennis standout Alex Ortega. The Miami native—the No. 1 ranked player in community/junior colleges, and the 2004 NJCAA Rookie of the Year and ITA All-American honoree—has been selected to the 2004 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Star Team.
The ITA All-Star Team, presented by The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, will be honored on August 27 at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y.
In the long history of the Palomino tennis program, Ortega is the first student-athlete from LCC to be selected to the All-Star Team. The 18-year-old Ortega joined LCC this spring and plans to continue his second year with the Palominos.
“Laredo Community College is proud of Alex Ortega for continuing to bring glory to our nationally-ranked tennis program. We applaud him for achieving such a distinctive honor and for representing the city of Laredo in this prestigious event,” said LCC President Dr. Ramon H. Dovalina.
This 21st edition of the ITA Collegiate All-Star Team includes the nation's top-ranked men's and women's tennis players at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA levels, as well as champions from the 2003 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships and 2004 NCAA Championships. This year's ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recipients—Lee Taylor Walker of Memphis and Courtney Nagle of Oregon—will also be honored at the event.
The ITA Collegiate All-Star Team will be treated by the ITA and The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy to a weekend in New York, highlighted by the Aug. 27 activities at the West Side Tennis Club, site of the U.S. Open until 1977.
Following a breakfast at West Side, the ITA All-Stars will participate in doubles play with guests from 9 to 11 a.m. Starting at noon the ITA All-Stars will then be honored at a special luncheon and presented their awards.
Nick Bollettieri will be on hand for the awards ceremony. The legendary Bollettieri founded his world famous tennis academy in 1978 and has coached many of the top players including Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Tommy Haas and Jim Courier.
“This will be a very rewarding and memorable experience for Alex to meet world famous coach Bollettieri, play at the historic West Side Tennis Club and appear with the team in a national tennis publication,” said LCC Head Tennis Coach Jaime Donjuan.
In addition to Ortega, this year's men's all-stars are: Ivan Angulo of the College of Santa Fe, Richard Barker of Rice, William Barker of Rice, Benjamin Becker of Baylor, KC Corkery, Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor, Jan Krejci of BYU-Hawaii, Matt Seeberger, Ludovic Walter of Duke, Sam Warburg of Stanford, Jeremy Wurtzman of Ohio State and Jason Zimmerman of Duke.
The women's all-stars are: Lauren Barnikow of Stanford, Daniela Bercek of UCLA, Erin Burdette of Stanford, Agata Cioroch of Georgia, Lauren Fisher of UCLA, Idalina Franca of Independence, Alexis Gordon of Florida, Cristelle Grier of Northwestern, Zsofia Golopencza of Armstrong Atlantic State, Mary Ellen Gordon of Emory, Karine Ionesco of Broward, Amber Liu of Stanford, Jessica Rush of Northwestern and Larikah Russell of Southern Nazarene.
The ITA has selected an All-Star Team since 1984. Recent players honored include: Bea Bielik, James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan, Laura Granville, Marissa Irvin, Alex Kim, Jeff Morrison and Brian Vahaly.
Alex Ortega
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