College notes: Carmel grad Brienne Minor enjoys playing in U.S. Open

Carmel alumna Brienne Minor, the reigning NCAA Division I women’s tennis singles champion, made her debut at the U.S. Open, one of the sport’s grandest stages.

Minor suffered a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, the 99th-ranked player in the world, in the first round on Wednesday. The Michigan junior was playing at the year’s final Grand Slam thanks to a wild-card berth into the main draw.

“This was an amazing first experience,” Minor was quoted as saying in an article on theundefeated.com.

During her time at the U.S. Open, Minor also passed Roger Federer in a hallway and got to say, “Hi” to Venus Williams, according to a New York Times story.

Minor, a Mundelein native, played her match on Court 10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. She was not all that far from Arthur Ashe Stadium, the tournament’s main court.

Ashe won the NCAA Division I men’s singles title in 1965 as a UCLA student-athlete and went on to win three Grand Slam singles titles. He was the most recent African-American to win an NCAA Division I singles title until Minor defeated Florida’s Belinda Woolcock in May.

Minor became the first black woman to win the NCAA Division I singles title.

Minor is coached by Mark Bey, who serves as the high performance coordinator at the Glenview Tennis Club and also coaches the pro doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan.

McCoy catches fire to start season

Kayla McCoy, who graduated from Christian Heritage Academy in Northfield, is off to a strong start for the Duke women’s soccer team this year.

McCoy, a junior forward from Lincolnwood, racked up two goals and an assist in Duke’s first four games. Duke (4-1-0) is ranked No. 13 in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll released Tuesday.

McCoy scored in wins over Xavier and Old Dominion. She has started all five of her team’s games.

Last season, Duke reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. McCoy scored a team-high eight goals as a sophomore.

Sommers relishing role as setter

Buffalo Grove graduate Katelyn Sommers, a junior setter on the Trinity International women’s volleyball team, has orchestrated the Trojans’ attack in her first season with the squad.

Through Trinity International’s first seven matches, Sommers led the way with 109 assists, including a season-high 25 against Indiana Northwest on Aug. 25. The Trojans won that match 25-19, 25-14, 25-16 in Gary.

Sommers played the past two seasons at Harper College before transferring to the Deerfield school, which is a member of the NAIA.

Trinity International (5-5) is scheduled to begin play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday at home against Roosevelt.

Area athletes help Colgate football win opener

The Colgate football team, which competes at the FCS level, started off its season with an upset win on the road, beating Cal Poly 20-14 on Aug. 26 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

The Mustangs were ranked No. 23 in the nation in the preseason coaches poll.

A few Chicagoland natives played a role in the win. Hinsdale Central graduate Max…

Please read original article- College notes: Carmel grad Brienne Minor enjoys playing in U.S. Open