Just when you thought college tennis was safe, the ITA gave its answer to the BCS. This season’s first computerized rankings for singles and doubles were released Tuesday. Team rankings will still be selected by vote until March 22.
The new rankings had both good and bad news for the Wildcats, who held on to their No. 4 spot in the team rankings, as they prepare for their match this weekend against No. 13 Texas.
Freshman Audra Cohen, who sports a 9-1 singles record, remained the top ranked player in the country in the computerized rankings, but she and her doubles partner, junior Cristelle Grier, dropped a spot to No. 2. The news for Grier was more drastic in singles, where she fell to No. 13. Grier, who is 8-2 this season, had been ranked No. 4.
“I’m not going to take it to heart too much,” said Grier. “The rankings have never affected me. It’s all a bit too complicated to follow or notice too much. I’ve got more to prove than my ranking at the moment.”
Because the computers take into account the rankings of the players one plays against, players like Grier can be hurt by having another high-ranked teammate. Because Grier often plays in the No. 2 slot behind Cohen, she faces fewer ranked opponents.
“I don’t think she’s paying any attention to it,” coach Claire Pollard said. “I think everyone knows that Cristelle is one of the best players in the country.”
Sophomore Alexis Prousis also dropped, from No. 49 to No. 59.
Prousis is 7-3 in singles.Her biggest win of the season came when she upset then-No. 33 Megan Moulton-Levy of William & Mary on Feb. 11. Moulton-Levy’s ranking has fallen to No. 48.
“I’m happy about getting recognized, but I care more about the team,” Prousis said. “If you focus on your ranking, you’ll feel more pressure. I think rankings do more bad than good.”
She and her doubles partner, senior Kristi Roemer, were unranked heading into this week. The duo came in at No. 18 in the country in spite of losing its last two matches. The duo won six of its first seven matches and also upset then-No. 10 Megan Muth and Amy Wei of William and Mary. They are 6-3 on the season.
“It’s really exciting, just being ranked at all,” said Roemer, who is nationally ranked for the first time in college. “I had no idea that we were going to be ranked. It was totally a surprise to me.”
The Cats (9-1) have other priorities this weekend when they host the Longhorns on Sunday. Texas (6-0), which will come to Evanston a day after visiting Notre Dame, boasts the No. 26 doubles team in the country in Katie Ruckert and Kendra Strohm.
Strohm is also ranked No. 80 in singles, while freshman Courtney Zauft comes in at No. 97.
NU won its last match against the Longhorns in 2003, 4-3, in Austin, Tex. The Cats will attempt to shove the rankings aside as they try to repeat the feat on Sunday.
“Hopefully we’ll try not to think about it,” said Roemer. “We’ll just go out there and play our games.”
Reach David Kalan at [email protected].
