New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Growing her game
Branford’s Esposito has committed to Auburn
When Branford’s Ava Esposito was going through the recruiting process to choose a women’s tennis college program, she obviously wanted to find the best fit. She also liked the idea of playing at a southern school.
With her prowess on the USTA level — she is currently 82nd in the rankings for the 18-under division — she was of interest to Division
I schools. Esposito wanted to go to a Power 5 school and verbally committed to one last March: Auburn University.
“A big part of my decision was how much I like the coaching staff, how supportive they were of me, how much of their time they devoted to watching me play (in tournaments) even after I committed,” Esposito said. “That showed me they were devoted and they really care about what is best for me.”
Esposito, 16, will sign her national letter of intent in November. She will play roughly one tournament a month as she prepares for that jump to the next level.
Esposito is coming off a 3-2 finish in singles play at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego, a Level 1 event, earlier this month. She went 2-2 in singles play at the USTA Girls National Clay Court
Championships held in July in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
“You get deeper in tournaments and you play the best kids in the country,” said Espoosito, who is now 6 feet tall.
She teamed with Caroline Driscoll (Brookline, Massachusetts) to advance to the Round of 16 in doubles in the clay court event.
In April, Esposito won a USTA Level 3 singles championship in Peachtree Corners,
Georgia in the 18U division. In doubles, her last victory came in September of 2021 at a Level 3 event in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“It feels like what I’m doing is the right thing for (on-court) training, offcourt training and preparation,” Esposito said.
Esposito is currently ranked No. 1 in New England in her age group according to Tennis Re
cruiting Network.
Esposito continues to work under her primary coach Rick Fay, the director of tennis at the Madison Racquet & Swim Club. In the last year, she has also worked with Adam Altschuler, formerly the executive director of High Performance Tennis at Intensity in Norwalk.
Among the players Altschuler has coached is Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the former world No. 1 in doubles who has won nine Grand Slam titles and an Olympic Gold medal in doubles play.
“She has amazing potential. She could go as far as she wants to take it,” Altschuler said. “She loves taking advantage of weaker shots, really attacking opponents all the time. I love that mentality.”
Altschuler feels Esposito can beat the top players in her division. It’s a matter of doing it more than once, displaying that consistency and mentality to accomplish that all the time.
“It’s just a matter of can she do it every single day at the same level,” Altschuler said.
Esposito will continue to work with both Altschuler and Fay around her tournament schedule. She attends online school, which affords her the opportunity to travel to tournaments. She has taken AP classes and will take more this school year. According to her mom, Eva, Ava is already an NCAA qualifier.
Auburn, out of the Southeastern Conference, finished with a 22-6 record last school year and was ranked as high as seventh in the nation. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division I Sweet 16 this past spring.
“One of the reasons I chose Auburn is because of they are willing to make me better. And I want to make myself better. It’s a perfect fit,” Esposito said.