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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Northwestern Reclaims Top Spot in Women's Rankings; Ellis in Collegiate Spotlight; Miami vs. USTA Juniors Update

The collegiate season's first computer rankings are out, and as expected, there was some notable shuffling in both the team and individual rankings. The Northwestern women returned to the No. 1 position they ceded to North Carolina for two weeks after the Wildcats' loss to Notre Dame. North Carolina is now No. 2, followed by Notre Dame, UCLA and Cal. The Bruins are the only team of the top five that retained its previous ranking. Georgia Tech fell from 14 to 25, while TCU went from 32 to 62. As explained in this ranking FAQ from the ITA, it takes a couple of computer rankings before they accurately reflect the adjustments of the first six weeks.

In the individual rankings, there were no changes at the top, with Georgia Tech's Irina Falconi and Cal's Jana Jurikova staying in the 1 and 2 singles positions. Tennessee's Natalie Pluskota and Caitlin Whoriskey remain the top-ranked doubles team.

In the men's team rankings, the changes were less dramatic. Virginia stayed at No. 1; in fact the top five--UVA, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas and Southern Cal--are the same as two weeks ago. Texas Tech, from 32 to 18, and Brigham Young, from 45 to 23, made big jumps, while Duke slipped from 21 to 33 and Boise State went from 29 to 58.

The men's individual rankings did see some serious shuffling. Virginia's Sanam Singh went from sixth to first, and the Cavaliers' Michael Shabaz moved into the No. 2 spot, with Steve Johnson of USC, the previous No. 1, falling to third. JP Smith of Tennessee and Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech round out the top 5. Wake Forest freshman Tripper Carleton made a huge jump from 74 to 20, although Duke's Henrique Cunha is still the highest-ranked freshman at 14.

Stanford's team of Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher are the top-ranked doubles team, with former No. 1s Alexander Stamche and Tim Puetz of Auburn dropping to No. 7.

For the complete Campbell's ITA rankings, see the ITA website.

The usta.com collegiate spotlight shines on Texas freshman Aeriel Ellis today. Click here for a question and answer session with the Californian, who possesses a fantastic one-handed backhand.

And finally, I apologize for being so late with this, but below are the results from the match late last week between the University of Miami women and a USTA junior girls team, which Miami won 5-2.

Laura Vallverdu/Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Sachia Vickery/Brooke Austin 8-4
Anna Bartenstein/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Amanda Lin/Jennifer Brady 9-7
Danielle Mills/Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Denise Starr/Mia King 8-4

Vickery def. Vallverdu(UM) 6-2, 6-3
Eichkorn(UM) def. Austin 6-4, 7-5
Bartenstein(UM) def. Starr 6-2, 6-2
Mejia(UM) def. Brady 6-3, 6-2
Mills(UM) def. Lin 6-4, 6-2
King def. Wasilewski(UM) 6-7(4), 7-5, 10-8

3 comments:

been-there said...

Re: Twitter about Julia Cohen:

I don't get it. First of all, I thought you had to take a year off if you left a D1 program unless there was hardship? What are the rules on that? Or can the coach sign something and let you go?

Second, why is Cohen jumping from Florida to Miami to Cal (PA)? It sounds like she had great success at each program. What is going on?

tennisbuddy12 said...

been-there,
The same situation (in football) happened with my school. Its somewhat similar, the 2nd string QB at Georgia Tech, which is a FBS program, is coming to my current school, which is FCS. He didnt lose eligibilty because it is a different class. Thats if I am correct.
I really dont know why she would choose such a school like that. I think with it being close to home and her mom helping out with the program, as well as possibly being able to travel to build on her pro results, led her to go there.

i think said...

The hardship is only football/basketball. I believe in every other sport you don't have to sit out. Though the school does have to release you from the scholarship.