Texas Tech University Athletics
Kiro Leads Four Lady Raiders In ITA Rankings
January 08, 2015 | Women's Tennis
January 8, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech landed a record four players in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings release this week.
Sophomore sensation Lynn Kiro and freshman Sarah Dvorak earned ITA Top 125 singles rankings, while the freshmen tandem of Sabrina Federici and Hortense Boscher have earned a spot in the ITA Top 60 doubles ranks.
This marks the first time in school history that four different Lady Raiders have been a part of the national rankings at the same time. On several occasions, Texas Tech has seen three Lady Raiders reach the ITA rankings, but never four.
As a team, the Lady Raiders will begin the spring ranked No. 31 nationally.
Leading the way is Kiro, who will begin the spring season Ranked No. 35 in the nation. This is the highest ranking ever earned by a Lady Raider in singles. Kiro was 7-3 in the fall and 36-9 overall since arriving in Lubbock. Kiro began the fall season ranked No. 83. Kiro was ranked as high as No. 92 last season.
Prior to Kiro's No. 35 ranking, the Lady Raiders had only had three players earn a ranking in the ITA Top 50. Former Lady Raider Zana Zlebnik was ranked 40th nationally on March 12, 1998, while Irina Tereschenko reached as high as No. 46 on March 30, 2001. Samantha Adams reached as high as No. 49 on Jan. 7, 2013.
Dvorak, who was unranked in the fall, jumped into the ranking at No. 89. Dvorak went 9-4 in the fall, including 1-1 against ranked opponents. The Hawai'i native advanced to the consolation singles final at the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championship and won the Ole Miss Invitational singles title in the fall. Dvorak arrived at Texas Tech as a five star blue chip recruit.
Federici and Boscher are the first freshman tandem to earn a doubles national ranking at Texas Tech, as the duo begins spring competition ranked No. 38. The pair went 4-2 in the fall, including winning the doubles title at the Purdue Invitational. The ITA also released the Texas Regional rankings for the spring, as Kiro, Dvorak and senior Kenna Kilgo picked up honors.
Kiro was ranked No. 8 in the region in singles, while Dvorak is No. 16 and Kilgo is No. 20. Texas Tech is one of five schools with at least three players ranked in the ITA Texas Region singles Top 20.
In doubles, Kiro and Dvorak enter the spring ranked No. 7 in the ITA Texas Region. The Lady Raiders open the spring season next week at the Michigan Invitational, a hidden duals event in Ann Arbor, Mich. Texas Tech kicks off the dual match season at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Atlanta, Ga., on Jan. 24 at Georgia Tech's Byers Tennis Complex.
Players Mentioned
