Now in its eighth year on the USTA Pro Circuit, The Mecco Cup increased its purse this year from $25,000 to $50,000. It is the second of four USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 women’s events prior to the US Open.

The USTA Pro Circuit is the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, consisting of 94 events and more than $3.2 million in prize money. The caliber of play at women’s events at the $50,000 level is close to that of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, and many of the top women from these events also compete in tour-level tournaments.

This year’s field includes two-time Allentown champion Varvara Lepchenko of the U.S., as well as defending doubles champion Sunitha Rao, a New Jersey native who now represents India, and former doubles champions Julie Ditty of the U.S. and Tetiana Luzhanska of Ukraine. The defending singles champion, Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa, is not entered.

The singles draw of 32 will consist of four players who advance through the qualifying event, which features former doubles champion Carly Gullickson and a host of young Americans that includes teenagers Lauren Albanese, Kim Couts, Chelsey Gullickson (Carly’s sister) and Asia Muhammed.

Julie Ditty, 29, of Ashland, Ky., enters the main draw at No. 99. She reached a career-high No. 89 in March after qualifying at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Tied for the all-time lead in USTA Pro Circuit titles, Ditty made her singles debut at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year. Playing primarily on the WTA Tour, Ditty has played a few USTA Pro Circuit events this year, reaching the quarterfinals at $50,000 Waikoloa, Hawaii, and $75,000 Dothan, Ala. With her singles title at $50,000 Lawrenceville, Ga., in October 2007, Ditty tied Nana Smith (nee Miyagi) and Paul Goldstein for the most USTA Pro Circuit titles with 30 (eight singles titles, 22 doubles titles). She graduated from Vanderbilt in 2001 with a degree in early childhood education.

Two-time Allentown champion Varvara Lepchenko, 22, of Allentown, Pa., is currently ranked No. 142. The native of Uzbekistan gained her U.S. citizenship last year, allowing her unrestricted travel for the first time since arriving in the U.S.; she has been living in-country since 2001 after receiving political asylum. This year, Lepchenko reached the doubles semifinals at the WTA Tour event in Memphis with partner Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, and in singles she has advanced to the final at $75,000 Dothan,

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Tournament Notes

Ala., and the quarterfinals at $75,000 Midland, Mich. In 2007, she won her fifth career USTA Pro Circuit singles title at $50,000 Boston and reached the singles final at $50,000 Ashland, Ky., to finish sixth in the prize money standings.

A New Jersey native who now lives in Florida and represents India, Sunitha Rao, 22, is currently ranked No. 149. Rao has won seven Circuit doubles titles in her career. She qualified and advanced to the round of 16 at the WTA Tour event Birmingham, England, prior to Wimbledon and earlier this year reached the semifinals at $25,000 Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Also in 2008, Rao reached the doubles final at $50,000 New Delhi, India, with Aurelie Vedy. In singles, she reached the final at $25,000 Noida, India, and last year reached the final at $50,000 San Francisco and $25,000 Southlake, Texas. Rao has also represented India in Fed Cup play, going 2-4 in singles and 3-2 in doubles over the past two years.

Abigail Spears, 26, of Pueblo, Colo., is currently ranked No. 167. She has played extensively on the WTA Tour, having reached the final of Quebec City in 2004 and rising to No. 66 in the world in 2005. She has also won three WTA Tour doubles titles, one in each year from 2003 to 2005. For her career, Spears holds 11 USTA Pro Circuit titles (two singles), including the doubles title at $50,000 Charlottesville, Va., with partner Raquel Kops-Jones in May of this year. In February, she reached the singles semifinals at $25,000 Clearwater, Fla., and she also advanced to the semis at $50,000 Surbiton, England. Spears played one year of college tennis at UCLA in 1999-2000. As a junior, Spears won consecutive USTA Girls’ 18s doubles titles in 1998 and 1999.

Alexa Glatch, 18, of Newport Beach, Calif., is currently ranked No. 207. She advanced to her first singles final at the $50,000 level at Carson, Calif., in late May. Glatch reached the girls’ final in both singles and doubles at the 2005 US Open, the same year she reached the second round of the US Open main draw in singles. Glatch overcame a broken right wrist and a broken left elbow (motor scooter accident) in 2006 to win $10,000 Fort Worth, Texas, and added a second title at $25,000 Southlake, Texas, last July. Earlier this year she advanced to the singles quarterfinals at $75,000 Dothan, Ala. Glatch also won the doubles title at $10,000 Edmond, Okla., in 2006.

Alexandra Stevenson, 27, of San Diego is currently ranked No. 234. She peaked at No. 18 in the world in 2002 after bursting onto the scene in 1999 by advancing to the Wimbledon semifinals as a qualifier. Stevenson has jumped more than 150 places since year-end 2007 by qualifying for the WTA Tour event in Charleston and advancing to the second round (before falling to Jelena Jankovic, 7-5, 6-0), and qualifying for $75,000 Dothan, Ala., where she reached the round of 16. Stevenson was ranked in the year-end Top 100 each year from 1999 to 2003, advancing to the second round or better at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She also made it to the second round of the doubles at the US Open in 1999-2000 and 2002-03.

2006 USTA Girls’ 18s singles champion Lauren Albanese, 18, of Coral Springs, Fla., is currently ranked No. 258. She arrives in Allentown on a roll, having reached the final at $25,000 events in Raleigh, N.C., in May and El Paso, Texas, in June (where she won the doubles with partner Surina De Beer). Albanese received a wild card into the 2007 US Open and had previously reached the second round of the 2006 US Open (through a wild card as the reigning USTA Girls’ 18s champion). In April 2007, Albanese spent time as a junior player with the U.S. Fed Cup team in Delray Beach, Fla., and witnessed the U.S. defeat Belgium, 5-0, in the quarterfinals. She won a USTA Pro Circuit singles title at $10,000 Wichita, Kan., in 2006.

A former Top 10 player who peaked at No. 9 in the world in 1996, Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, 37, of the Netherlands is currently ranked No. 288. The 6-foot-2 Schultz-McCarthy remains one of the biggest servers in women’s tennis, having returned to competitive play full-time in 2006 after nearly seven years away. She was a four-time semifinalist and two-time finalist on the ITF Circuit in 2007, and qualified for the WTA Tour event in Memphis earlier this year. Schultz-McCarthy reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 1995 and has reached the semifinals or better in doubles at all four Grand Slams, including a runner-up showing at the US Open in 1995 with partner Rennae Stubbs.

Kimberly Couts, 19, of Bradenton, Fla., is currently ranked No. 291. The former Easter Bowl champion and USTA Girls’ 16s No. 1 played almost exclusively professional events for the first time in 2007, winning her first professional title at $10,000 Evansville, Ind. So far in 2008 she has reached the quarterfinals or better at four events, including the semis at $25,000 Raleigh, N.C., and the quarters at $50,000 Charlottesville, Va. Couts also qualified for the main draw at $75,000 Dothan, Ala., and, in doubles, recently won $25,000 Raleigh, N.C., with partner Anna Tatishvili.

Carly Gullickson, 21, of Brentwood, Tenn., is currently ranked No. 315. She is coming off a victory earlier this year at $25,000 Hammond, La., and is looking to rebound from an injury-plagued 2007 that saw her drop from No. 202 to No. 413 in the world rankings. Gullickson did not compete from May 2007 until January 2008, when she qualified for $25,000 La Quinta, Calif., and advanced to the quarterfinals. She also reached the quarterfinals at $25,000 Pelham, Ala., in early April and has excelled in doubles, making it to the quarterfinals in Memphis and winning $25,000 Surprise, Ariz., and $25,000 La Quinta, Calif., with Shenay Perry. She also advanced to the doubles final at $25,000 Hammond, La., as a wild card with sister Chelsey.