Jan. 15, 2003
ATLANTA – With three players, Jaime Wong, Catherine Gunn and Mysti Morris, earning spots in the preseason singles poll, the Georgia Tech women’s tennis team earned its highest ranking ever, checking in tied for 17th in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, which were released Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
“I’m really pleased to see where we are starting this season,” said Tech head coach Bryan Shelton. “Obviously it’s a starting point for us and hopefully we can finish higher than that by the end of the season. Having three singles players and two doubles teams ranked in the preseason is great for our program along with the team ranking.”
The Yellow Jackets are tied with UNLV for the 17th spot in the poll, while Stanford took the top spot, followed by Florida, Georgia, Duke and North Carolina. The ranking for Tech tops its climb to 18th on March 27, 2002.
“I think with the players that we have coming back and the new players that we have added, this could be the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here are Georgia Tech,” said Shelton. “Jaime, Catherine and Mysti all had great fall seasons and they will be at the top our lineup this year.”
Senior Jaime Wong was the top-ranked individual for the Jackets, as she checked in at 33rd in the first poll of the year. Wong had an outstanding fall campaign, recording a 12-3 record, which included a six-match unbeaten streak to open the year. Wong is also ranked 27th in doubles with fellow senior Mysti Morris. The duo finished the fall with a 9-3 record with wins over a pair of top-30 opponents.
Sophomore Catherine Gunn is the next Tech singles player in the rankings, as she is 59th in the preseason poll. Gunn finished the opening half of the year with a 9-6 record in singles play and a 7-4 mark in doubles action. Along with doubles partner Maria Nieto, Gunn is ranked 51st in the preseason doubles rankings. The duo recorded a win over 12th-ranked Lindsay Dawaf and Julie Rotondi of Florida during the fall season.
Mysti Morris is the third Yellow Jacket singles player in the rankings, as she went 11-5 in the fall and is 115th in the opening poll of the year, winning four of her last five matches. Morris is also 27th in the doubles rankings with partner Jaime Wong.
Georgia Tech will open its dual-match season on January 29, when it hosts in-city rival Georgia State at 2 p.m.
