By Trina Singian, USTA Communications

Co-ed intramural and club tennis teams, representing 64 colleges and universities across the country, have qualified for the 2014 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship to be played at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Center in Surprise, AZ, April 10-12.

The USTA Tennis On Campus program features more than 35,000 college students competing nationwide in intramural and intercollegiate coed club play. Since its inception in 2000, Tennis On Campus has grown significantly and today is played on more than 600 college campuses across the country.

“We are excited to announce the field for the 2014 Tennis On Campus National Championship – the most exciting recreational college tennis event in the country,” says Glenn Arrington, National Manager, USTA Tennis On Campus. “The event provides a well-rounded experience for our student-athletes in a social atmosphere with both competition and fun. We believe the opportunity for students to compete at Nationals is a memorable milestone in their college experience.”

Developed by the USTA in partnership with NIRSA, World TeamTennis, and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, the Tennis On Campus program gives college students the opportunity to build leadership skills, network in a coed sports environment and compete on a college team without the rigors of playing in a varsity program.  With year-round match play, and regional and national championship competition, students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years.

This 15th Anniversary Championship will see 64 colleges and universities represented.

Now celebrating its 15th Championship, the event has grown tremendously over the years. “It’s hard to believe that in 2000 we were begging teams to attend—there were ten—and now we have 64 teams in Surprise and 32 teams playing in the Spring Invitational down the road in Tuscan,” says NIRSA Director of National Sports Programs, Valerie McCutchan. “The quality of the event and the collaboration with our partners seems to get better each year. It will have the NIRSA Championship Series feel of true student athletes—exams being proctored in the back room and competitive play on the courts.”

This year, four schools will make their debut at Nationals in a field that also includes defending champion, University of Georgia. Teams participating in the Tennis On Campus National Championship have advanced through USTA section championship play or received automatic bids from winning at the Fall or Spring Invitational.

Participating teams who have received bids for this year’s USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship include the following schools:     

Arizona State University

Northwestern University

University of Michigan

Auburn University

Penn State

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Baylor University

Purdue University

University of Missouri

Boston College

Rutgers University

UNC Chapel Hill

Brigham Young University

Saginaw Valley State University

University of North Texas

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Southern Methodist University

University of Oklahoma

Chico State University

Stanford University

University of Oregon

College of William and Mary

Stony Brook University

University of Pennsylvania

Cornell University

Texas A & M University

University of South Carolina

Dartmouth College

Texas Tech University

University of South Florida

Duke University

UC Berkeley

University of Southern California

Elon University

UC Irvine

University of Texas at Austin

Ferris State University

UC San Diego

University of Texas at San Antonio

Georgia Tech

UC Santa Barbara

University of Virginia

Gonzaga University

University of Arizona

University of Wisconsin

Harvard University

University of Central Florida

Villanova University

James Madison University

University of Colorado

Virginia Tech

Louisiana State University

University of Delaware

Washington University St Louis

Marquette University

University of Florida

Western Washington University

North Carolina State University

University of Georgia

Yale University

North Dakota State University

University of Illinois

Northeastern University

University of Iowa

Visit the Tennis On Campus website at TennisOnCampus.com for complete results, stories and photos. In addition, please follow #TOCNationals on social media throughout the tournament.

Trina Singian is responsible for media relations and communications for USTA. The USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship is a part of the NIRSA Championship Series.