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Kleybanova Is Top Pick in Mylan World TeamTennis Roster Draft

March 12, 2013 - World TeamTennis (WTT) News Release


NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 12, 2013) - Cancer survivor Alisa Kleybanova was selected by the Springfield Lasers with the first overall pick in today's 2013 Mylan World TeamTennis Roster Draft at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. The former world No. 20 will make her Mylan WTT debut on July 8, when Springfield hosts the Boston Lobsters.

Kleybanova was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in May 2011. She successfully returned to action in Miami last year, winning her first round match, but decided she was not healthy enough to return to the WTA Tour. The Russian has been training off the court and is looking forward to playing her first Mylan WTT season.

"It looks very exciting and tough," said Kleybanova."But I love challenges, so I'm ready to take the opportunity to participate in Mylan WTT this summer!"

In other first round draft highlights, fans will have the opportunity to see 2013 International Tennis Hall Of Fame inductee Martina Hingis team up with Venus Williams in Washington. The two-time defending Mylan WTT champion Kastles picked up the rights to Hingis in a pre-draft trade with the New York Sportimes. Williams was protected by the Kastles in February's Mylan WTT Marquee Draft. In 1997, Hingis defeated Williams in an all-teenage final at the US Open.

A trio of future American stars will be featured on the multi-colored courts of Mylan WTT for the first time. Jessica Pegula and Steve Johnson were drafted fourth and fifth overall by the Philadelphia Freedoms and the Orange County Breakers, while Taylor Townsend was selected in the second round by last season's runner-up Sacramento Capitals.

Other first round selections were the Texas Wild picking up Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, while Boston grabbed Jill Craybas. The New York Sportimes protected league veteran Robert Kendrick in the first round.

Prior to the start of the Roster Draft, two Americans were selected in the Roster Exempt Draft with Springfield picking up Vania King, while Coco Vandeweghe will play close to home for the Orange County Breakers.

The Mylan WTT regular season runs July 7-24, with conference championships scheduled for Thursday, July 25, and concludes with the Mylan WTT Finals presented by GEICO, on Sunday, July 28.

The season begins on Sunday, July 7 with six of the eight teams in action. The Washington Kastles put their 32-match win streak on the line on Monday, July 8, against the New York Sportimes at Kastles Stadium at the Wharf in Washington, D.C.

Roster Exempt Draft Selections

1. SPRINGFIELD: Vania King

2. ORANGE COUNTY: Coco Vandeweghe

Roster Draft Selections

Round One

1. SPRINGFIELD: Alisa Kleybanova

2. TEXAS: Eugenie Bouchard

3. BOSTON: Jill Craybas

4. PHILADELPHIA: Jessica Pegula

5. ORANGE COUNTY: Steve Johnson

6. NEW YORK: Robert Kendrick (P)

7. SACRAMENTO: Mark Knowles (P)

8. #WASHINGTON: Martina Hingis (P)

Round Two

1. SPRINGFIELD: Jean-Julien Rojer

2. TEXAS: Aisam Qureshi (P)

3. BOSTON: Eric Butorac (P)

4. PHILADELPHIA: Liezel Huber

5. * TEXAS: Alex Bogomolov Jr.

6. NEW YORK: Jesse Witten (P)

7. SACRAMENTO: Taylor Townsend

8. WASHINGTON: Leander Paes (P)

Round Three

1. SPRINGFIELD: Rik De Voest

2. * ORANGE COUNTY: Maria Elena Camerin

3. BOSTON: Amir Weintraub

4. PHILADELPHIA: Sam Groth

5. ^ BOSTON: Paola Suarez

6. % NEW YORK: Anna-Lena Groenefeld (P)

7. SACRAMENTO: Megan Moulton-Levy

8. WASHINGTON: Bobby Reynolds (P)

Round Four

1. SPRINGFIELD: Pass

2. TEXAS: Elena Bovina

3. ^ ORANGE COUNTY: Treat Huey

4. PHILADELPHIA: Jordan Kerr

5. ORANGE COUNTY: Pass

6. NEW YORK: Kveta Peschke (P)

7. SACRAMENTO: Ryan Sweeting

8. WASHINGTON: Anastasia Rodionova (P)

Notes:

PProtection

Round 1:

#New York traded Martina Hingis to Washington for financial consideration.

Round 2:

*Orange County traded their 2 nd round pick for Texas' 3 rd Round Pick and financial consideration.

Round 3:

^Boston traded their 4th round pick and financial consideration for Orange County's 3rd Round Pick.

%Orange County traded Anna-Lena Groenefeld to New York for financial consideration.

MYLAN WTT TEAM BY TEAM BREAKDOWN:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

ORANGE COUNTY BREAKERS:

To begin building its 2013 team, the Orange County Breakers selected Coco Vandeweghe in the Roster Exempt Draft. Vandeweghe was a key player in getting the Sacramento Capitals to the Mylan WTT Finals last July. With its first pick of the Roster Draft, the Breakers drafted American Steve Johnson, a former University of Southern California singles standout, followed by three-time WTA titlist Maria Elena Camerin in the third round. Treat Huey, who played several matches for the Washington Kastles in 2012, was the Breakers fourth and final pick of the day, offering a good balance of youth and experience when they try to make a run at the Western Conference Championship.

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS

After securing the return of Americans Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey to this year's lineup in the Marquee Draft, the Sacramento Capitals used its first round roster pick to protect Mylan league veteran Mark Knowles, who has played all 12 of his Mylan WTT seasons in Sacramento. In the second round, the Caps selected up-and-coming American Taylor Townsend, who last week won her first WTA Tour main draw match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Women's doubles specialist Megan Moulton-Levy was Sacramento's third round pick, and she will be playing her first season of Mylan WTT this summer. With their fourth round selection, the defending Western Conference Champions brought back Ryan Sweeting, who reached the final qualifying round of the Australian Open earlier this year and will be playing his second consecutive season with the team.

SPRINGFIELD LASERS:

The Springfield Lasers drafted Andy Roddick as the first overall pick in last month's Marquee Draft, and then selected Alisa Kleybanova with the first overall pick of today's Roster Draft. Kleybanova, who will be making her Mylan WTT debut, reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 in 2011 before fighting cancer for the past two years. Roddick and Kleybanova will be joined by Jean-Julian Rojer, who will be playing his second season in the League after winning Male Rookie of the Year honors in 2011. With its third round pick, the Lasers brought back Rik de Voest, who played for the team in 2011 and will play his fifth season of Mylan WTT this July.

TEXAS WILD:

In last month's Marquee Player Draft, the Texas Wild retained Bob and Mike Bryan to play their 9 th consecutive Mylan WTT season in preparation of building a championship team around its famed doubles duo. With its first round pick of the Roster Draft, the Wild selected on-the-rise Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who will be playing her first season of Mylan WTT this July. The team protected Aisam Qureshi in the second round and added Alex Bogomolov Jr., who qualified into the Australian Open and Memphis this year, with its third pick. To round out its roster, the Wild selected 2004 Australian Open Mixed Doubles titlist Elena Bovina, who will be playing her second season in the League and first with the Wild.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

BOSTON LOBSTERS

After acquiring Mark Philippoussis in last month's Marquee Draft, the Boston Lobsters began filling out its roster with the selection of American Jill Craybas, who has previously played one season of Mylan WTT. In the second round, the Lobsters protected fan favorite Eric Butorac, who's played the past three seasons with the Lobsters - two of which ended in playoff appearances. Boston's third-round choice was Amir Weintraub, who recently won his first major main draw match at the Australian Open this year. With their final roster spot, the Lobsters scored women's doubles star Paola Suarez, who has eight doubles majors to her names as well as 39 WTA doubles titles. This will be Suarez first year in the League.

NEW YORK SPORTIMES:

The New York Sportimes chose to protect players in all four rounds of the draft, bringing back longtime Sportimes Robert Kendrick and Jesse Witten and picking up Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke in a pre-draft trade with the Orange County Breakers. Kendrick, Witten and Peschke were all part of the 2012 Eastern Conference runner-up team while Groenefeld played for the Breakers last season, which was also the runner-up in their respective Western Conference Championship. These players will join former world No. 1 John McEnroe who will be playing three matches during his 12 th season with the Sportimes this July.

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS:

Last month, the Philadelphia Freedoms drafted young, rising American Sloane Stephens in the Marquee Draft, and today their first pick of the Roster Draft stayed on a similar trend with the selection of Jessica Pegula, another American up-and-comer. Pegula will make her Mylan WTT debut alongside 12-season veteran Liezel Huber, who the Freedoms took with their second round pick. In the third round, Philadelphia took Sam Groth, who played for the Mylan WTT Champion Kansas City Explorers in 2010 followed by Australian and doubles standout Jordan Kerr in the fourth, who will be back with the Freedoms for his second consecutive season this July.

WASHINGTON KASTLES:

After winning 32 consecutive matches, including the 2011 and 2012 WTT Mylan WTT titles, the Washington Kastles came into the roster draft with a lot to defend and a solid game plan for how to do it. With its first round pick, the defending champions protected former world No. 1 and the 2012 Female MVP Martina Hingis through a trade with the NY Sportimes. In rounds two through four, the Kastles continued with protections retaining three of last year's title teammates Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds - who won 2012 Male MVP - and Anastasia Rodionova, respectively. In the February Marquee Player Draft, the Kastles also protected its rights to last year's Finals MVP Venus Williams making it clear that when the 38 th season rolls around this July, they are committed to picking up right where they left off.

2013 Mylan World TeamTennis Player Rosters (all players)

Boston Lobsters: Mark Philippoussis, Jill Craybas, Eric Butorac, Amir Weintraub, Paola Suarez. Coach: Bud Schultz

Springfield Lasers: Andy Roddick, Vania King, Alisa Kleybanova, Jean-Julien Rojer, Rik de Voest. Coach: John-Laffnie "JL" de Jager

Texas Wild: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Eugenie Bouchard, Aisam Qureshi, Alex Bogomolov Jr., Elena Bovina. Coach: Brent Haygarth

Philadelphia Freedoms: Sloane Stephens, Jessica Pegula, Liezel Huber, Sam Groth, Jordan Kerr. Coach: Josh Cohen. Assistant Coach: Nathan Healey

Orange County Breakers: Coco Vandeweghe, Steve Johnson, Maria Elena Camerin, Treat Huey. Coach: Trevor Kronemann

New York Sportimes: John McEnroe, Robert Kendrick, Jesse Witten, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Kveta Peschke. Coach: TBD

Sacramento Capitals: Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, Taylor Townsend, Megan Moulton-Levy, Ryan Sweeting. Coach: Wayne Bryan

Washington Kastles: Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds, Anastasia Rodionova. Coach: Murphy Jensen

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