Jan. 9, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s women’s tennis team, the reigning NCAA, ITA National Team Indoor and Atlantic Coast Conference champion, has earned the top spot in the first national poll of the 2008 season, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Tuesday afternoon.
Tech earned 25 of the possible 26 first-place votes in the poll, and was followed by Stanford, UCLA, Florida and Georgia. Clemson, at No. 10, joins Tech as the only ACC schools in the top ten, while Miami (11) North Carolina (12), Duke (17), Florida State (20) and Wake Forest (21) all appear in the top-25.
The Yellow Jackets, who also have six individuals that appear in the first singles and doubles national rankings of the year, are coming off their most successful season in history and return five members from the 2007 national championship team that went 29-4, including five-time All-American Kristi Miller and 2007 doubles All-American Whitney McCray.
Miller and McCray, who became just the second Yellow Jacket doubles team to earn All-America honors when they did so in 2007, stand at No. 10 in the nation in the first doubles poll of the season while both appear in the top-25 in the singles rankings. Miller is one of three Yellow Jackets ranked in the top-10 in singles, standing at No. 7 behind sophomore Amanda McDowell (3rd) and freshman Maya Johansson (6th). McCray, at No. 22, gives Tech four players in the top-25, while both Christy Striplin (38) and Noelle Hickey (56) stand in the top-60.
The Yellow Jackets play in two more tournaments, the UNLV Invitational this weekend and the National Collegiate Tennis Classic next weekend, prior to opening their dual match season at Auburn Jan. 23. Tech’s first home match is against USF on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1 p.m.
ITA Team Rankings (Jan. 8, 2007)1. Georgia Tech (25)2. Stanford (1)3. UCLA (1)4. Florida5. Georgia6. California7. Northwestern8. Southern Cal9. Notre Dame10. Clemson...11. Miami (Florida)12. North Carolina17. Duke20. Florida State21. Wake Forest39. Virginia40. NC State60. Virginia Tech
Tech in the ITA Singles Rankings (Jan. 8, 2007) 3. Amanda McDowell 6. Maya Johansson 7. Kristi Miller 22. Whitney McCray 38. Christy Striplin 56. Noelle Hickey
Tech in the ITA Doubles Rankings (Jan. 8, 2007) 10. McCray/Miller
