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Former Duke Star Kelly McCain Named USTA Pro Circuit Player of the Week
7/9/2003 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
July 9, 2003
Former Duke women's tennis star Kelly McCain posted sensational results only weeks after making her debut as a professional on the USTA Pro Circuit. McCain, 20 years old from Tampa, Fla., swept both the singles and doubles titles at the Edmond $10K 2003, held June 23-29 in Edmond, Okla. and then was named the USTA Pro Circuit Player of the Week.
In singles, the third-seeded McCain needed only 71 minutes to defeat No. 4 seed Kyung-Mi Chang of Korea, 7-5, 6-2, in the final, while, in doubles, she teamed with Julie Ditty to beat Angela Haynes and Jackie Trail, 6-3, 6-3, in the championship match.
McCain, who turned pro after completing her sophomore year at Duke University, last won a USTA Circuit title in 2000 at the USTA Satellite of Evansville, Ind. Other successful results she has had at the professional level include reaching the doubles final three weeks ago at the $25,000 event in Allentown, Pa., the event in which she made her pro debut, and, after qualifying into both events last year, advancing to the singles final in Peachtree City, Ga., and the quarterfinals in Louisville, Ky.
While at Duke the last two years, McCain was one of the Blue Devils top players, compiling a 67-11 record in singles and a 52-27 mark in doubles. She became the fourth Duke women's tennis player to win a collegiate Grand Slam singles title when she captured the ITA Riviera All-American championship in the fall of 2002. In addition, she became only the fifth Duke player in history to be ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles, when she achieved the feat on Feb. 26, 2003. A two-time All-American, McCain was named the 2003 ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore and received ACC Freshman of the Year honors for the 2001-02 season.
RANKING HISTORY 2003 - 4 (ITA) 2002 - 335 (WTA), 9 (ITA) 2001 - 447 (WTA) 2000 - 459 (WTA), 36 (ITF*) 1999 - 1029 (WTA), 1 (USTA 18s*), 52 (ITF*) 1998 - 2 (USTA 16s) 1997 - 31 (USTA 16s) 1996 - 5 (USTA 14s) * Denotes highest ranking achieved during the year
2003 HIGHLIGHTS Swept the singles and doubles titles at the Edmond (Okla.) 10K 2003 - her first ITF titles since turning pro at the beginning of the summer... Seeded third in both events, she defeated fourth seed Kyung-Mi Chang of Korea, 7-5, 6-2, in the singles final, then teamed with Julie Ditty to beat fourth seeds Angela Haynes and Jackie Trail, 6-3, 6-3, in the doubles final. Made her professional debut at the $25,000 Mecco Cup in Allentown, Pa.... Lost in the first round of singles to Jessica Kirkland, 7-6, 6-3... Reached the doubles final with partner Adria Engel, losing to Surina DeBeer and Ilke Gers, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3. Turned pro after her sophomore season at Duke University... Was one of the Blue Devils top players during her two years at the university, compiling a 67-11 record in singles and a 52-27 mark in doubles... Was only the fifth Duke player to be ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles (Feb. 26, 2003)... A two-time All-American, she was named the 2003 ACC Player of the Year as a sophomore and received ACC Freshman of the Year honors in 2001-02.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 2002 Became only the fourth women's tennis player from Duke to win a collegiate Grand Slam singles title when she captured the singles title at the Riviera All-American Championships as a sophomore... Seeded fourth, McCain won 10 of the last 11 games in the final against Old Dominion's Nataly Cahana, en route to a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory... All five wins in the tournament came against top-25 players. Qualified into the $25,000 event in Peachtree City, Ga., and advanced to the final, where she lost to Maria Sharapova, 6-0, 6-1. Qualified into the $50,000 event in Louisville, Ky., and advanced to the quarterfinals, where she fell to Alina Jidkova, 6-4, 6-0. Qualified into the $50,000 event in Oyster Bay, N.Y., before losing in the first round to Sunitha Rao, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. 2001 As a freshman, played No. 1 singles at Duke. Through the beginning of April, posted a 16-2 record in dual matches, and 24-5 overall. Was ranked No. 3 in the Omni Hotels NCAA Division I rankings. Reached the semifinals at the Riviera All-American Championships, upsetting No. 2 seed Lauren Kalvaria of Stanford, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round. Had her best performance to date in a professional tournament at the USTA $25,000 Challenger at Peachtree City, Ga... Won three qualifying matches and three main-draw matches before losing in the semifinals to Su-Wei Hsieh 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5. Led Saddlebrook Academy to the Florida state championship. 2000 Won the USTA Satellite of Evansville, Ind., as the No. 7 seed... Defeated Stephanie Hazlett in the final 6-3, 6-4. Reached the quarterfinals of the USTA $25,000 Challenger of Clearwater, Fla., losing to eventual champion Marissa Irvin, 6-4, 6-3... As a wild card, upset No. 8 seed Lucie Ahl in the first round, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. 1999 Won the Easter Bowl girls' 18 singles title. Played No. 1 singles for the United States at World Youth Cup, the 16-and-under version of Fed Cup. 1998 Won the USTA National Girls' 16 Clay Court singles title. Won the USTA National Girls' 16 singles title.
PERSONAL Father, David, is her coach. Mother, Susan. Older brother, Danny, played varsity tennis at the University of Michigan. Has a specific outfit for each round of a tournament, a la Venus Williams. Says toughest player she has faced is Kim Clijsters. Never steps on the lines on a tennis court between points. Nickname is "Lil' One." Enjoys drawing and watching the TV show "Friends" in her spare time. Attended Saddlebrook Academy.
***Release provided by USTA
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