Regional Rankings put Arkansas near top
FAYETEVILLE – With the release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Fall Regional Rankings, the University of Arkansas women’s tennis team finds itself well represented in both singles and doubles.
The Lady Razorbacks have the most singles players represented of the entire region, with nearly half of the Lady’Back roster registering in the top 30 players. The next best represented teams in the rankings are Brigham Young and New Mexico, each with three singles players in the region stretching from Arkansas to Utah.
"Our fall accomplishments give our squad a lot of confidence for the spring season, and we have much to look forward to,” said head coach Michael Hegarty. “We have a very challenging schedule, but I feel we are one of the deepest teams around with the ability to go eight-deep on any given day,"
2005 ITA Central Regional Tournament Singles Champion Ela Kaluder brings in the highest singles ranking for the Lady’Backs at 2nd. The 18-2 freshman from Zagreb, Croatia, made a big push towards the ranking with an 8-0 undefeated run at the Central Regional Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, and by advancing to the round of 16 at the ITA National Indoor Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
Fellow freshman Aurelija Miseviciute pulled down the second-highest ranking for the Lady’Backs with a place at the number seven spot. Miseviciute finished the fall season 13-1 with her only loss coming in the semifinal round of the ITA Central Regional to the number one ranked player in the region, Olga Boulytcheva of BYU.
Also making the singles rankings for the Lady’Backs are nationally ranked players Vlatka Jovanovic and Maryori Franco. The 53rd-ranked Jovanovic checks in on the regional board at No. 15 while the 113th ranked Franco holds down the 17th ranking. Last season, Jovanovic and Franco anchored the Lady’Backs on lines one and two.
In doubles, Arkansas tied with Kansas State with two teams making the rankings chart. However, both Lady’Back squads garnered higher rankings than both of the Kansas State teams. Freshmen pair Kaluder and Miseviciute pulled in the No. 2 ranking behind New Mexico’s Iva Gersic and Maja Kovacek.
Kaluder and Miseviciute took the region by storm in the 2005 fall season with a doubles title at the ITA Central Regional Tournament and a Round of 32 appearance at the ITA National Indoor Tournament.
Franco and Karina Ledaja fall right behind Kaluder and Miseviciute with a No. 3 ranking. Franco and Ledaja finished the 2005 fall with a 14-5 record together and trip to the ITA Central Regional doubles title match.
The Lady’Backs begin their spring campaign on Jan. 27 against Oral Roberts and Wichita State. For more information, please visit LADYBACKS.COM.
ITA RankingsNCAA Division I Women’s TennisRegional Rankings – Fall 2005
Central Region
Singles1. Olga Boulytcheva, BYU2. Ela Kaluder, Arkansas3. Maja Kovecek, New Mexico4. Iva Gersic, New Mexico5. Jessica Vanderdys, Colorado6. Tamara Kvaratshelia, Kansas State7. Aurelija Miseviciute, Arkansas8. Lauren Jones, BYU9. Kim Hartmann, Nebraska10. MonicaMilewski, Colorado11. Anastasia Surkova, BYU12. Suzanna Maksovic, Denver13. Tatiana Ganzha, Boise State14. Ksenia Bukina, Kansas15. Vlatka Jovanovic, Arkansas16. Iryna Tkachenko, Oklahoma State17. Maryori Franco, Arkansas18. Emily Kirchem, Colorado state19. Veera Nurmi, Colorado20. Gabby Baker, Oklahoma21. Imke Reimers, Nebraska22. Liz Ferris, Utah23. Jessica Simosa, Kansas State24. Carla Zabaletta, Tulsa25. Annette Aksdal, Denver26. Liz Garza, Missouri State27. Katla Kudluckova, Kansas State28. Vanessa Heute, Nebraska29. Elizveeta Avdeeva, Kansas30. Anne Anderson, Colorado State30. Irina Lykina, Oklahoma
Doubles1. Gersic-Kovacek, New Mexico2. Kaluder-Miseviciute, Arkansas3. Franco-Ledaja, Arkansas4. Boulytcheva-Holden, BYU5. Biorkman-Macfarlane, Boise State6. Kudluckova-Kvaratshelia, Kansas State7. Reimers-Skaza, Nebraska8. Abayan-Bushey, Air Force9. Perevoschikova-Simosa, Kansas State10. Grimes-Zabaletta, Tulsa11. Ardeeva-Bukina, Kansas12. Milevski-Vanderdys, Colorado13. Kirchem-Anderson, Colorado State14. Maksovic-Axsdal, Denver15. Mignot-Fintell, New Mexico State
