Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Tennis Finishes Season Ranked in the ITA Top 20
May 26, 2015 | Women's Tennis
Texas Tech was one of only 15 schools nationwide to have both the men and women finish the season ranked in the ITA Top 20.
May 26, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas - Following yet another successful spring season, the Red Raider and Lady Raider tennis programs finish inside the top 20 for the final Oracle/ITA National Collegiate Tennis rankings, as announced by the publication on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lady Raiders, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history, finish the year ranked No. 16. This marks the highest final ranking for a program that recorded 14 ranked wins in 2015, including five over top-25 opponents, despite boasting one of the youngest lineups in the country with four freshmen, one sophomore and a senior.
"I am so proud of these girls and how far they came from the beginning of the season all the way through the tournament," head coach Todd Petty said. "The maturity, experience and growth this team made will only pay dividends for what's to come in the future for this team."
Four other Big 12 teams joined the Lady Raiders in the top 20 with Baylor coming in at No. 9, Oklahoma State at 12 and TCU finishing ranked 17th in the country.
Meanwhile on the men's side, the Red Raiders garnered their second highest final ranking at No. 19 after a season, which included upsetting then-No. 1 Oklahoma and advancing to the program's 14th NCAA Tournament.
"There's no way I could have predicted we would be 19th in the country at the end of the year after losing a player early in the season," head coach Tim Siegel said. "It's really a credit to our team, their hardwork and effort. We only lose one player, so add in a couple new guys along with the experience our lineup gained this year and I'm really excited about what next year has in store for us."
Tech brought home two more All-America honors this season as well as Felipe Soares became the first player to advance into the NCAA Singles Quarterfinals while Soares and teammate Hugo Dojas rolled into the NCAA Doubles Championship before falling to rival, Texas, in three sets for the title.
The argument for the Big 12 Conference as the strongest on the men's side continued to build momentum with the final rankings as all six teams registered in top 30. Five of those six, including Texas Tech, finished in the top 20 while four of the top 10 in the country call the Big 12 home.
The national runner-up Oklahoma came in No. 2, conference foe Baylor finished in third, the Horned Frogs of TCU came in No. 4 and the Texas Longhorns slid into ninth.
Texas Tech was only one of 15 schools nationwide where both the women and the men finished the season ranked inside the top 25.
About the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
As the governing body of college tennis, the ITA administers the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings that are designed to track the top men's and women's teams, along with singles and doubles players in the NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA, Junior Colleges and California Junior Colleges. For full rankings information, please visit www.itatennis.com/AwardsandRankings/Rankings.htm.
Players Mentioned
