University of Tennessee Athletics
VILMARIE CASTELLVI AND MANISHA MALHOTRA NAMED TO FED CUP TEAMS
April 16, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 16, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
Current and former University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis standouts Vilmarie Castellvi and Manisha Malhotra were named to the 2003 Fed Cup teams for their respective countries, as announced by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Castellvi, a native of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, will assist her country in the Americas Qualifying Group II, while the Bombay, India, native Malhotra will be a representative in the Asia/Oceania Qualifying Group II. The Americas Qualifying Group II is slated to take place at Parque Central de San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Asia/Oceania Qualifying Group II will be contested at Ariake Tennis Park and Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan. Play begins on Monday, April 21.
"Mike (Patrick) and I are very pleased that Vilmarie and Manisha have been appointed to represent their countries," said UT Co-Head Coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick. "It is a great honor to play Fed Cup. They will both be able to put their experience in team competition at UT to use in the event. It will be a great opportunity for Vilmarie and should help her in preparation for the NCAA Tournament."
Castellvi owns a career record of 132-50 in singles with Tennessee and is also 95-59 in doubles. She currently holds the No. 1 singles ranking in the nation heading into the SEC Tournament this weekend in Knoxville. Castellvi's numerous honors this year include being named one of three Female Amateur Athletes of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, two Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Player of the Month awards and being labeled one of Puerto Rico's Women of the 21st Century by El Nuevo D'a, the island's largest newspaper in circulation.
Malhotra played for the Lady Vols from 1994-98, compiling records of 108-54 and 88-41 in singles and doubles. Like Castellvi, she was decorated with awards throughout her career. Malhotra was a three-time All-America selection in doubles from 1996-98 and earned the nod in singles in 1997. She captured a spot on the All-SEC Second Team for doubles in 1996 and 1998, as well as the singles squad in 1996. Malhotra was no stranger to success in the classroom either, picking up Academic All-SEC recognition in 1996 and 1997.
The largest annual international team competition for women in any sport, Fed Cup was originally launched in 1963 in celebration of the ITF's 50th anniversary. Having seen the great success that the home and away format had achieved in Davis Cup, the format for the Fed Cup was changed in 1995 so that women, as well as men, could play for their country in their homeland. While the format has been adjusted several times since 1995, the current system, introduced in 2002, incorporates a 16 Nation World Group playing both home and away and in a four-team finals week.
Under this format, the first two rounds are played in April and July on a home and away knock-out format. Four teams-Austria, Spain, the Slovak Republic and Italy-have progressed to the World Group Finals, and will contest the semifinals and final in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria. All other nations compete in regional qualifying events. Almost 100 nations will compete in this year's event.
The list of players who have competed in Fed Cup features some of tennis' all-time greats, such as Billie Jean King. Others include Virginia Wade, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, as well as present day stars Venus and Serena Williams, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Amelie Mauresmo, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport. The next generation of women's tennis has already been well represented with the likes of Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Daniela Bedanova, Elena Dementieva and Daniela Hantuchova making their mark in Fed Cup as well.
