Stanford and Virginia Claim Top Spots in ITA College Tennis Rankings
The reigning champion Stanford Cardinal women's team and Virginia Cavaliers men's team remain atop the ITA Division I Team Rankings, as released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Stanford clipped Texas A&M 4-3 to win its 17th NCAA title last spring and the team will look to continue its success this season although the Cardinal will need to replace its top player, Nicole Gibbs, who turned pro prior to the start of the 2013-2014 season. Senior Kristie Ahn (number six) leads the Cardinal and is joined in the lineup by a trio of ranked freshmen: Caroline Doyle (number 34), Carol Zhao (number 40), and Taylor Davidson (number 41).
The Florida women's team is number two in the team rankings, as the Gators' two-year NCAA Championship reign ended in 2013 in the semifinals against Stanford. Though they've lost 2013 ITA Player of the Year Lauren Embree, the Gators boast four players in the ITA Top 30, including Olivia Janowicz (number 17) and Brianna Morgan (number 18), who is 13-4 with six ranked wins this fall. The Gators also feature former ITA number one Sofie Oyen, who is currently ranked 27th.
North Carolina, the 2013 ITA Division I Women's National Team Indoor champions, came in at number three in the ITA Division I Women's Team Rankings. The Tar Heels have added two talented freshmen to their roster, including seoond-ranked Jamie Loeb, who started her collegiate career with wins at both the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships and 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the fall to boast a 19-1 singles record. Fellow Tar Heel Hayley Carter is fifth in the ITA Singles Rankings.
On the men's side, the defending champion Virginia Cavaliers claimed the top spot in the ITA Division I Men's Team Rankings. Virginia fought off a team match point against UCLA in the 2013 NCAA Men's Team Championship, capturing its first team title in the 67th year of the tournament. The team is led by Mitchell Frank (number three), winner of the 2013 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championship, who went undefeated (6-0) in the fall. Frank clinched the 2013 NCAA team title for the Cavaliers. He is joined by former number one Alex Domijan, who missed the fall season, and three other ranked singles players.
The UCLA Bruins begin the season nipping at the heels of Virginia in the number two slot. Clay Thompson triumphed in the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship en route to an 18-1 fall record and the number one ranking. Five singles players and one doubles team earned rankings for the Bruins, including number 11 Marcos Giron and newcomers Mackenzie McDonald (number 62) and Gage Brymer (number 120). UCLA last won the NCAA Team Championship in 2005.
Georgia rounds out the top three, having made a run to the semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Team Championships before losing to eventual champion Virginia. The Bulldogs are led by four Top 50 ranked players, including Nathan Pasha (number 21), who won his first seven matches of the fall and also captured the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Singles Championship. Sophomore Austin Smith (12th) also turned in an outstanding fall record for Georgia at 15-5, including a quarterfinal appearance at the 2013 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships.
Twelve schools have both men's and women's programs ranked inside the Top 25:
UCLA's Robin Anderson and Jennifer Brady sit atop the Division I Women's Doubles Rankings. The Bruins, who were ranked 20th in the ITA Preseason Rankings, won the 2013 ITA/Riviera Women's All-American Championships doubles title in September after winning seven straight matches to clinch the title. Along their way, the duo beat the current fifth-ranked Georgia team of Lauren Herring and Maho Kawase. Anderson is also ranked number one in singles after making it to the finals of both national events.
Tennessee's Hunter Reese & Mikelis Libietis lived up to their ITA Preseason number one ranking, making finals appearances in both national tournaments during the fall and winning the 2013 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships doubles title. The pair won their first eight matches en route to an 11-2 record during the fall, while also racking up three wins against top 20 teams.
Several rookies caught the attention of the college tennis world this fall and have charged their way into the top 30 entering the spring season. Number two Loeb and number five Carter, who reached the semifinals of the 2013 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, are joined in the top 25 of the ITA Division I Women's Singles Rankings by fellow freshmen Denise Starr of Cal (15th) Jennifer Brady of UCLA (24th).
On the men's side, both North Carolina's Ronnie Schneider (17) and George Goldhoff of Texas (24) started off their careers on the right foot. Goldhoff registered three wins in Tulsa, including knocking off top-ranked Libietis in the second round before losing to Baylor's Julian Lenz in the quarterfinals. Schneider recorded wins over five ranked opponents during a nine-match winning streak to start his collegiate career. He won two main draw singles matches at Tulsa before also falling to Lenz.
Four players on both the men's and women's side moved up considerable spots in the ITA National College Tennis singles rankings from this fall. Duke's Beatrice Capra rose from 27th to third, while Jenny Jullien of St Mary's jumped from 22 to seventh, Abigail Tere-Apisah of Georgia State improved to eighth from her previous rank of 37th, and UCLA's Chanelle Van Nguyen surged to number nine from 80.
UCLA's Clay Thompson made a huge leap on the men's side, rising from 74 all the way to number one. Julian Lenz of Baylor jumped from 38th in the ITA Preseason Rankings to number two, while Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma surged to six from his preseason ranking of 85th. Last but not least, Austin Smith of Georgia was not fazed by being left out of the ITA Preseason Rankings, earning his number 12 ranking by going 15-5 in the fall.
