MIT’s Kailas Kahler, Vassar’s Erin McCusker repeat as USTA Rhode Island’s College Tennis Players of the Year.
Kahler a three-time recipient of the Andy Chase Award; McCusker earns her second Jill Craybas Award, from the USTA state association.
NEWPORT, RI – Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student Kailas Kahler and Vassar College junior Erin McCusker have been named the United States Tennis Association Rhode Island’s College Tennis Players of the Year, for the 2024-25 school year. Kahler, from Pawtucket, earned the Andy Chase Award as the Ocean State’s top male college player for the third straight year.
McCusker, from Norton, Mass., is receiving the Jill Craybas Award, as the state’s female college player of the year for the second time.
The awards go to the top male and female college players who graduated from a Rhode Island secondary school and played for their school team. They do not necessarily need to play at an in-state college. They will be presented with their awards at The Hall of Fame Open on Wednesday, July 9.
“This is the 11th year that we are presenting our college player of the year awards,” said Douglas Chapman, president and CEO of USTA Rhode Island. “We hope that it encourages and motivates local players to play college tennis. And we are thrilled to once again be able to present the awards in-state at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport.”
JILL CRAYBAS AWARD
ERIN McCUSKER (Vassar) – McCusker continued a standout career for the Brewers in 2024-25 playing out of the top singles flight, earning First Team All-League recognition for the third straight season. McCusker, who was named the 2024 Liberty League Player of the Year, finished the 2025 spring season with a 10-6 record playing out of the top flight. McCusker closed the spring with four wins in her last six decisions and posted a 6-1 record against Liberty League opponents. McCusker was named the Liberty League Singles Performer of the Week on both March 3 and April 14.
McCusker was the third ranked singles player in NCAA Region 2.
In doubles play, McCusker and partner Sofie Shen earned First Team honors for the second time as a unit after landing on the First Team in 2023. The duo posted a 7-6 record playing out of the top flight for the Brewers in spring, including a 4-3 mark against Liberty League rivals. Vassar’s top pair finished the season seventh in the Liberty League in winning percentage and in their final decision of the year scored a 6-0 victory over Hunter in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. McCusker and Shen were named Liberty League Doubles Team of the Week on April 14.
Vassar finished the season with a 15-6 overall record and a 7-1 mark against league rivals. Vassar appeared in the Liberty League title match for the eighth straight season in 2024-25. They defeated #25 Renselaar Poly Tech and #30 Skidmore en route to the Liberty League championship. They also defeated Hunter College in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before losing to #10 Amherst..
McCusker earned First Team All-State honors for all four years playing at LaSalle Academy in Providence. She was the RI state individual singles champion as a senior and helped to lead the Rams to four consecutive state team championships. .
McCusker, from Norton, Mass., is majoring in Psychology and Biology.
ANDY CHASE AWARD
KAILAS KAHLER (MIT) – Kahler was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America Singles Team for the second time in his career. He is also a two-time First Team Academic All-American.
Kahler finished the season with an 18-8 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship. He beame the first Engineer to qualify for the NCAA single tournament since 2015-16. He also advanced to the semifinals of the ITA New England Regional in the fall. He finished the year ranked 23rd nationally in Division III and seventh in the region.
He twice was named the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year in 2022-23 and 2023-24..
Kahler posted an undefeated record in singles play in the conference at No. 1 singles (4-0) and went 3-0 in NEWMAC Doubles action. Overall, he finished the year ranked 18th overall nationally in D3 singles. He was named also named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America Singles Team. He is MIT’s first All-American since 2016-17 and 16th overall.
Off the court, Kahler is an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major and boasts a 4.0 GPA. He is an undergraduate research assistant at the MIT Low-Energy Autonomy and Navigation Group. He has been a course lab assistant in various classes in the MIT EECS Department since 2021. Additionally, he was an ASIC Engineering Intern at Seagate where he wrote python scripts and debugged failing testcases. He also designed a minimal game engine using C++ and OpenGL as a personal project.
As a junior, he was named the NEWMAC Player of the Year, NEWMAC First Team All-Conference as well as the NEWMAC Sportsmanship and Academic All-Conference teams. He was a CSC Third Team Academic All-American, CSC Academic All-District and ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Pawtucket’s Kahler is a 2020 graduate of Moses Brown School, where he earned four varsity letters in tennis, was a team captain and three-time team MVP. He went undefeated in high school singles matches and earned a highest national recruiting ranking of #101.
Kahler graduated with a degree Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
JILL CRAYBAS – A native of East Greenwich, Craybas is the most successful tennis player in Rhode Island history. She was a RIISL high school state singles champion for the Lincoln School and captured the 1996 NCAA singles championship for the University of Florida, when she was the National College Player of the Year. She is the only player in NCAA history to be a member of Division I championship teams at two different schools (Texas and Florida). A two-time SEC Player of the Year, she finished her college career with a 124-18 record. A Florida Gator Hall of Famer, she played nearly 20 years on the WTA Tour. She won the 2002 Japan Open and five doubles titles on the main tour. She was ranked as high as #3 in the US and #41 in the world. A regular for the US Fed Cup team. Her most notable result came at Wimbledon in 2005, where she defeated Serena Williams and Marion Bartoli.
ANDY CHASE – A native of Cumberland, Chase was the US National 16 & Under Hardcourt Singles Champion and a two-time national junior doubles champion. He won two RIILS state singles championships and team championship for Cumberland. He went on to play at Stanford University, where he was a teammate of John McEnroe. The Cardinal won three NCAA Division I team championships during his four years in Palo Alto, California.
AWARD RECIPIENTS
JILL CRAYBAS AWARD
2025 – Erin McCusker (Norton/LaSalle), Vassar College
2024 – Erin McCusker (Norton/LaSalle), Vassar College
2023 – Jenna Lisi (Cranston), Rhode Island College
2022 – Jenna Lisi (Cranston), Rhode Island College
2021 – Jenna Lisi (Cranston), Rhode Island College
2020 – Jenna Lisi (Cranston), Rhode Island College
2019 – Julia Pezzuco (Johnston), Western Carolina University
2018 – Natalia Pezzuco (Johnston), Union College
2017 – Evelyn Miller (Smithfield), Colby-Sawyer
2016 – Sadie Campanella (Chepachet), Rhode Island College
2015 – Rebecca Curran (Rumford), Williams College
ANDY CHASE AWARD
2025 – Kailas Kahler (Pawtucket), Mass. Institute of Technology
2024 – Kailas Kahler (Pawtucket), Mass. Institute of Technology
2023 – Kailas Kahler (Pawtucket), Mass. Institute of Technology
2022 – Eric Zhang (Barrington), Kenyon College
2021 – Alex Bourque (North Smithfield), Rhode Island College
2020 – No award (COVID-19 cancels season)
2019 – Matt Kuhar (Smithfield), Bryant University
2018 – Matt Kuhar (Smithfield), Bryant University
2017 – Matt Kuhar (Smithfield), Bryant University
2016 – Eric Laboissonniere (Cumberland), Roger Williams University
2015 – Matt Kuhar (Smithfield), Bryant University
USTA RHODE ISLAND is the governing body of tennis in the state, and one of seven state associations that make up USTA New England, one of 17 sections in the country. Its mission is to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the Ocean State.
USTA Rhode Island
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