Fila Cup: Ivy Alumni Challenge set to take place August 27-28
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Casey Angle
609-497-6921
ITAmedia@aol.com
08/24/06 - Skillman, N.J.–Past Ivy League men's tennis stars will have the chance to represent their schools on the court once again August 27-28 during the Fila Cup: Ivy Alumni Challenge at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York.
Alumni from all eight Ivy League men's programs - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale - will be fielding teams later this month. Fila will be donating $1,000 to the tennis programs at each of the participating schools, with an additional $2,000 being donated to the championship team's program and additional $1,000 to the runner-up team's program.
Ivy League tennis enjoys a rich tradition. Ivy players won 36 of the first 37 NCAA singles titles from 1883-1920, and the first 38 NCAA doubles titles from 1883-1921. The league has also produced current star James Blake (Harvard 1997-99), who has recently climbed to as high as No. 5 in the Idesit ATP Rankings.
Among this year's expected participants include: WTA Tour Chairman and CEO Larry Scott (Harvard '86) and Bill Colson ( Princeton '72), former managing editor of Sports Illustrated,.
Team matches will consist of one singles match and four doubles matches played simultaneously. All participants have received their undergraduate degrees no later than 1996 and the four doubles teams will consist of partners with either the combined ages of (at least) 75 or 90.
The Fila Cup is being administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
In April Fila and the ITA hosted the inaugural Fila Cup: Alumni Doubles Challenge in conjunction with the NASDAQ-100 Open at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park (Fla.). This event also gave past college players the chance to once again represent their schools.
"This is a pilot program for what we hope can be a model for college tennis programs to emulate as a way to build alumni support and attention," says ITA Executive Director David A Benjamin, who also coached at Princeton from 1974-2000. "It should be a fun and exciting event for college tennis and fit in nicely with the U.S. Open atmosphere in the New York during this time."
ABOUT FILA
Fila was conceived in 1911 in Biella, in the shadows of the Italian Alps. The brand made a dramatic debut as an elite performance brand in 1973. Over the years the brand has drawn attention from the elite likes of Bjorn Borg, Reinhold Messner, Alberto Tomba, and current U.S. Open Champion Kim Clijsters. Fila offers its distinctive luxury goods in eight categories, ranging from performance collections to sport couture.
Fila is a subsidiary of Sport Brands International (SBI), which creates, develops, produces and distributes athletic brands including Fila and the Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based Cloudveil. The Fila brand has its most vital market penetration in the Americas, Europe and Asia. SBI is a privately held entity with global operations in Milan, Italy; New York, New York; and Sparks, Maryland. Research and development facilities are additionally located in Montebelluna, Italy. To learn more about the brand, visit fila.com.
Event Date: 08/27/06
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