Two former Virginia athletes punched their tickets to the summer Olympics in Rio last week, with former field hockey player Michelle Vittese and former men’s tennis player Dominic Inglot both making their respective teams.
Vittese was named to the U.S. Olympic team this past Friday, July 1. This will mark her second straight Olympics, as Vittese first competed for the United States in the 2012 London Olympics.
As a midfielder for Virginia, as well as a three-time All-American, Vittese led the team to two consecutive NCAA semifinal appearances in 2009 and 2010. She has found equal success in her professional career, helping the U.S. Women’s National Team to two Pan American Games gold medals.
The fifth-ranked U.S. Women’s National Team, competing in Pool B at the Olympics, will face off against No. 2 Argentina, No. 3 Australia, No. 7 Great Britain, No. 10 Japan and No. 13 India. Their first game will be against top-ranked Argentina on Sunday, August 6 at Deodoro Stadium.
Dominic Inglot, a 2009 Virginia graduate, qualified to compete in the men’s doubles competition at Rio this past Thursday, June 30. Inglot, who will be partnering with Colin Fleming, will represent Great Britain at the Olympic Tennis Event from August 6-14.
Inglot is one of only five men’s tennis players to represent Great Britain this summer, appearing in the Olympics for the first time this August. He is currently ranked No.29 worldwide in doubles and has previously won five ATP titles.
During Inglot’s time at Virginia, he and partner Michael Shabaz became the first ACC doubles team to win the NCAA Men’s Doubles Championships. Inglot also finished his career at UVA as the No. 15 singles player in the country.
The Draw for the Olympic Tennis Event will occur on August 4 at 11am local time at the Olympic Tennis Center in Rio de Janeiro.
