This past week of college tennis produced a number of notable results, including a rare home loss by the Stanford women, as the Cardinal were shocked 4-3 by St. Mary’s over the weekend, dropping Stanford out of the Top 10. The Florida Gators also had an interesting two days, losing 4-0 at Duke on Sunday before defeating top-ranked North Carolina 4-2 on Monday. For the men, the Virginia Cavaliers fought off the competition at the 2013 ITA DI National Men’s Team Indoor Championship to hold steady at No. 1, claiming the title with a 4-2 triumph over No. 2 USC.
Follow the Leader: For the men, following Virginia are USC, UCLA, Ohio State, Duke, Kentucky, Pepperdine, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss. One the women’s side, North Carolina is followed by UCLA, Duke, Florida, Georgia, USC, Cal, Alabama, Northwestern, and Texas A&M.
Conference Count: Men’s Top 25: SEC – 9; Pac-12 – 4; ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten – 3; Big East, Conference USA, and WCC – 1. Six different conferences placed at least one team in the Top 10. Women’s Top 25: ACC – 7; SEC – 5; Big Ten and Pac-12 – 4; Big 12 – 3; Big East and Ivy League – 1. Four SEC teams landed in the Top 10, while the Pac-12 had three squads among the Top 10 and the ACC had two.
Double-Dip: A total of 13 schools have both their men’s and women’s programs ranked inside the Top 25. Duke, Georgia, UCLA, and USC find both their men’s and women’s team inside the Top 10 this week. The 13 schools are listed in the graphic above.
Top 25 Caliber: One men’s and one women’s team cracked the Top 25 this week. On the men’s side, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ranked No. 24 after checking in at No. 29 two weeks ago. Notre Dame has played a rigorous schedule to this point, facing seven ranked opponents on the year already. The Fighting Irish are playing very well in head coach Bobby Bayliss’ final year, recently defeating No. 50 Michigan State 6-1 and No. 23 Michigan 4-3 while also dropping a tight 4-3 contest to No. 6 Kentucky. It is the first time back in the Top 25 for Notre Dame since March 29, 2011. On the women’s side, the Florida State Seminoles slipped into the Top 25 this week at No. 25. Florida State has put together a solid season so far, compiling a 6-1 record with the only blemish coming at No. 19 Baylor 4-1. The Seminoles own victories over No. 35 Rice 4-2, No. 47 South Florida 6-1, and No. 58 Georgia State 5-2. Florida State has not been ranked this high since Feb. 22, 2012, when the Seminoles were No. 22.
Top 75 Newcomers: In all, six teams have leaped into the Top 75 in the latest rankings after being unranked previously, including four men’s and two women’s squads. Nebraska checks in at No. 59 this week on the strength of recent wins against No. 34 VCU, No. 60 Georgia State, and then No. 74 ETSU. The No. 72 Oregon Ducks are undefeated on the season at 8-0, collecting victories over No. 52 Arkansas and No. 69 New Mexico last weekend, while Yale upset No. 68 Brown en route to posting a 2-1 record at the ECAC Team Indoor Championship to earn its ranking of No. 74. Finally, No. 75 Wisconsin beat previous No. 75 UC Irvine 5-2 to secure its place in the national rankings this week. For the women, No. 63 Kentucky rebounded from a pair of losses against ranked foes to upset No. 60 Indiana at home and No. 61 Ohio State on the road, both by the score of 4-3. Previously unranked NC State moved to 4-0 on the season with a 6-1 defeat of No. 72 College of Charleston, moving the Wolfpack into the rankings at No. 73.
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