The University of Mississippi Athletics
Women's Tennis No. 40 In Preseason National Rankings
1/11/2005 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 11, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - The preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings were released Tuesday, and the Ole Miss women's tennis team will begin the year ranked No. 40 in the nation.
"We don't put too much into the preseason rankings," head coach Mark Beyers said. "A lot of the preseason team rankings are based on 2004, since we don't play team events in the fall. Everybody starts out the season 0-0. Whether you start at No. 40 or No. 5, doesn't matter. What matters, is where you finish the season. Obviously, with having all 12 teams in the conference nationally-ranked, this is going to be another great year for the SEC. We are excited about the team we have this year and what we can accomplish. We can't wait to get started later this month."
Stanford received 29 first-place votes to claim the No. 1 spot followed by Florida, Clemson, UCLA, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Southern California, Duke, Tulane and Washington. The SEC is represented by six teams in the top 25. Joining Florida and Vanderbilt in the Top 25 are Georgia (No. 13), Kentucky (No. 14), Tennessee (No. 18) and LSU (No. 23).
In the individual rankings, senior All-American Chloe Carlotti moved up to No. 32 in the nation in singles. Carlotti posted a 7-4 record in the fall and won three rounds in the qualifying tournament at the Riviera All-American to reach the main draw, where she defeated then No. 6 ranked Alice Barnes of Stanford.
"Chloe had a good fall," Beyers said. "It was nice to see her move up in the rankings. With as many tournaments as there are in the fall, you have to do well to position yourself to qualify for the NCAAs in the spring. She did that."
Freshman Nika Koukhartchouk broke into the rankings at No. 117 after a great debut in the fall. The Kaliningrad, Russia, native finished with a 7-5 record and defeated three nationally-ranked players.
In doubles, Carlotti and Virginia Tomatis are ranked No. 39. The All-SEC duo went 6-3 in the fall.
The Lady Rebels, who boast six newcomers in 2005, will kick off the season Jan. 29, when they host South Florida.
