BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU women’s tennis team is ranked ninth in the latest Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for the highest mark in school history.
So far this season, LSU has been ranked 12th and 13th. Both marks also broke the record for the highest team ranking. Prior to this season, the highest ranking was 15th set by the 1995 team.
The Lady Tigers are off to one of the best starts in school history with an 11-3 record. Last month, the team reached the ITA Team Indoor Championships for the first time with a win over No. 24 Georgia Tech in the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
In Madison, Wisconsin, LSU defeated No. 10 Oklahoma State for the second top-10 win under co-head coach Julia Sell. The victory was the fifth top-10 win for the program in the last 24 years.
The Lady Tigers have used a balanced lineup through all six courts. No. 20 Joana Vale Costa leads the way on court one with a 10-2 record and 2-2 mark against ranked opponents. Vale Costa is on a six-match win streak heading into SEC play and is 8-2 in her last 10 matches.
Sophomore Ryann Foster has impressed with a perfect 12-0 spring record and 19-5 overall record. Foster is on a 14-match win streak dating back to the fall. Eleven of Foster’s 12 wins this dual match season have come in two sets.
The bottom half of the singles lineup has also played a large part in the success for LSU. This season, court four is 12-0, court five is 8-4 and court six is 9-4. Junior Abby Owens and senior Ella Taylor own a combined 17-7 record between courts four through six.
The Lady Tigers open up Southeastern Conference play on the road this weekend. LSU takes on Alabama at 5 p.m. Thursday and Auburn at noon Sunday.
Follow the Lady Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten and @LSUJuliaSell, on Instagram @LSUWTen and on www.Facebook.com/lsuwten.
ITA/Oracle Team Rankings
1 Ohio State University
2 California
3 North Carolina
4 University of Michigan
5 Texas Tech University
6 Duke University
7 University of Georgia
8 Vanderbilt University
9 LSU
10 Oklahoma State University
11 Pepperdine
12 University of South Carolina
13 Wichita State University
14 Texas A&M University
15 University of Florida
16 University of Virginia
17 University of Kentucky
18 University of Tulsa
19 Clemson University
20 Stanford
21 University of Miami (Florida)
22 Fresno State
23 University of Kansas
24 Syracuse University
25 Mississippi State University