WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Notre Dame senior All-American and NCAA singles semifinalist Michelle Dasso (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson HS) has been named to the 2001 USA Tennis Collegiate Team as one of the top six American women’s collegiate players, it was announced Friday by the United States Tennis Association and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Dasso will be making her second appearance on the team after being selected for the 1999 USA Tennis Collegiate Team, an elite training program for the top American collegiate tennis players that is administered by the USTA and ITA and is designed to provide players with valuable exposure to the professional circuit in a team-oriented environment.
The 2001 women’s team begins play in Easton, Md., on June 18 and also will compete in USTA events in Edmond, Okla., Los Gatos, Calif., and two events at locations to be determined. The team is funded by the USTA, and the players were chosen by a USTA and ITA selection committee based on U.S. citizenship, NCAA singles tournament results, dual-match record, final ITA ranking, performance in ITA collegiate grand slam events and sportsmanship. Also joining Dasso on the team are Duke freshman Ansley Cargill, Arizona State sophomore Adria Engel, Stanford sophomore Laura Granville, Stanford junior Lauren Kalvaria and Florida senior Whitney Laiho.
A four-time All-American, Dasso wrapped up her storied Notre Dame career by becoming the first Irish player to reach the NCAA Division I singles championship semifinals before losing to eventual champion Granville. Dasso became the first Notre Dame player to reach a grand slam final at the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championship in the fall and also reached the singles and doubles semifinals at the Rolex National Indoor Championships. She finished her Irish career with a 140-36 singles record (91-16 in dual matches) and 109-42 doubles mark (78-25 in dual matches). Dasso owns school records for career singles, doubles and combined wins and single-season singles (40) and combined singles and doubles victories (74 in 2000-01).