BATON ROUGE — The LSU women’s tennis team will begin the 2001 season as the 23rd-ranked team in the nation, according to the WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings which were released on Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
“This is a huge accomplishment for our team to open up the season ranked in the top 25,” said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. “We’re really looking forward to getting the season started. We’re looking forward to battling again in team competition, and with our schedule this season, hopefully we can continue to move up in the rankings.”
LSU enters the 2001-spring season with arguably the most difficult schedule in the nation. The Lady Tigers will face 12 teams ranked among the top 40 in the nation, while eight of those opponents are currently ranked in the top 25.
The eight ranked teams in the top 25 are: Georgia and Florida, whch are tied for No. 2, Vanderbilt (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 17), Mississippi (No. 19), South Carolina (No. 20), Florida State (No. 21), and Tulsa (No. 25.)
“This season is going to be tough on us,” Minnis said. “But I realize that in the past, when we’ve had a tougher schedule, that we’ve been able to go farther in the post season.”
The No. 1 ranked team in the nation according to the WingspanBank.com pre-season rankings is Stanford, who received 14 of the possible 32 first-place votes.
The LSU women’s tennis team is set to begin its arduous spring schedule January 19-22 at the Georgia Invitational Tournament in Athens, Ga.
NCAA Division I Women’s Team Rankings – Top 25
Team Votes
1. Stanford (14) 1487
t2. Georgia (10) 1470
t2. Florida (7) 1470
4. Duke (1) 1440
5. California 1398
6. Texas 1380
7. Arizona State 1372
8. Wake Forest 1357
9. UCLA 1355
10. Pepperdine 1341
11. Vanderbilt 1307
12. Southern California 1277
13. Notre Dame 1271
14. South Alabama 1256
15. William & Mary 1202
16. Northwestern 1190
17. Tennessee 1187
18. Baylor 1175
19. Mississippi 1134
20. South Carolina 1131
21. Florida State 1078
22. Ohio State 1077
23. LSU 1074
24. Arizona 1040
25. Tulsa 998