NCAA title bookends for UNC’s Reese Brantmeier at USTA National Campus – World Tennis Magazine

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As a freshman in 2023, Reese Brantmeier was the No. 1 singles player on the University of North Carolina team that won the NCAA team title at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida. Four years later, as a senior at the same USTA National Campus, Brantmeier was the No. 1 player in the NCAA women’s singles championship and the last player to emerge as a tournament winner.

Brantmeier became North Carolina’s second-ever NCAA champion by defeating Berta Passola Folch of California-Berkeley 6-3, 6-3 to win the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Singles Championship.

“It’s been a pretty cool circle,” Brantmeier said of her team and individual NCAA titles at the USTA National Campus during her four-year stint.

Additionally, the USTA National Campus was also where Brantmeier trained as a junior player before enrolling at North Carolina. Brantmeier was one of the top American junior players and was invited by the USTA’s Player Development program to stay and train on campus, as her hometown of Whitewater, Wisconsin was not conducive to high-quality training, especially in the winter months.

“I have had the opportunity to train with Player Development for many years, so I am no stranger to Lake Nona,” she said. “I’m fortunate to have that experience here. I think it definitely helped me feel comfortable on these courts.”

However, the courts at the USTA National Campus may not be Brantmeier’s most engaging courts. That distinction may belong to the public tennis courts in her hometown of Whitewash, Wisconsin, which she personally raised nearly $200,000 to renovate after years of neglect.

“We had our grand opening last July,” said Brantmeier, who said she is still raising money to help the city have enough money for future court maintenance. “The high school teams have practiced there, all the local people have practiced there. They’re open to the public 24/7, and we have a free checkout system with rackets and balls at all the local schools and public libraries. So it was just our goal to make tennis for everyone, and there shouldn’t be any financial barrier if anyone wants to play, they should have that opportunity. And that’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life and just the Pure joy for the sport has really connected me with that again.”

Brantmeier’s NCAA singles title is a milestone for the UNC women’s tennis program as she became only the second Tar Heel in history, following Jamie Loeb in 2015, to win the NCAA singles crown. In addition to her 2023 NCAA team title and her 2025 singles title, Brantmeier’s college career was highlighted by a host of accolades: 2025 ACC Player of the Year, first-team All-ACC in singles and doubles, an All-American in both disciplines. She also holds the title of ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, demonstrating her excellence both in the classroom and on the field. After winning her NCAA title, she even had to rush to the airport to catch a flight back to North Carolina so she could take an exam at 8 a.m. the next morning.

Her career wasn’t all rosy, however, as she underwent numerous surgeries on her leg that kept her from competing in NCAA singles or doubles competitions during her sophomore and junior years. Entering this NCAA singles match, she had not won an NCAA singles match, having lost in the first round of the event as a freshman in 2023.

On a broader scale, Brantmeier has also been an outspoken voice off the court, as she is part of a class action lawsuit challenging NCAA rules on prize money, a battle she has waged alongside her playing career.