BINGHAMTON, July 15, 2016
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced the main draw wild card selections for the 23rd Levene Gouldin & Thompson (LG&T) Tennis Challenger, a $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit event held at Binghamton’s Recreation Park, July 18-24. US-Americans Michael Mmoh, Dennis Nevolo, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Jared Hiltzik have been chosen as wild card participants for the event.
A two-day qualifying tournament will begin on Saturday, July 16, deciding the final four spots in the singles main draw. The tournament is the seventh USTA Pro Circuit men’s challenger event of the 2016 season. The LG&T Challenger is the first leg of the three-tournament US Open Wild Card Challenge, which awards a men’s wild card into the US Open in August based on results in Binghamton, Lexington, Ky., and Aptos, Calif. – wrapping up on August 8. The Challenger also features a 16-team doubles tournament.
Mmoh possesses the highest ranking of the four wild cards at No. 320. The 18-year old is the son of former ATP Tour pro Tony Mmoh and currently trains at Nick Bollittieri’s prestigious IMG Academy. Mmoh has won four International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures titles with his most recent victory coming this past March in Bakersfield, California.
Nevolo (No. 456) returns to the LG&T Challenger after reaching the round of 16 in 2014. The 26-year old veteran is a former two-time All-American at Illinois reaching a peak ranking of No. 2 in the nation as a senior. The Illinois native has won a pair of ITF singles titles and four ITF doubles championships.
Kwiatkowski (No. 542) recently wrapped his up collegiate career at the University of Virginia where he led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NCAA Team National Championship. The two-time All-American was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player after going 5-0 in team competition.
Hiltzik (No. 636) also finished his collegiate career this past spring, completing a successful run at the University of Illinois. The three-time All-American for the Fighting Illini won the ITF doubles title in Winston-Salem last month with fellow wild card selection Kwiatkowski. Both are currently practice partners for the US Davis Cup team.