USC’s Sarmiento and Hanfmann claim No.1 doubles ranking
ITA Division I Men’s Rankings | ITA Division I Women’s Rankings
SKILLMAN, NJ (April 22) – The UCLA women and USC men both earned No. 1 spots in the ITA Division I National Team Rankings for a second time this season.
A number of upsets on the women’s side occurred over the weekend, including No. 1 Duke losing to both No. 17 Clemson and No. 27 Georgia Tech, sending the Blue Devils down to No. 6 from the top spot. Georgia moved up four spots to No. 2 after winning its seventh SEC Championship title 4-0 over No. 3 Alabama. The California women moved up from No. 10 to No. 4 after beating No. 5 Stanford, 6-1, to clinch the Pac-12 regular season conference title. Other big movers were Rice, who jumped 10 spots to No. 19 after a 4-2 win over No. 19 Tulsa while South Florida moved from No. 41 to No. 31 after beating No. 39 Memphis and No. 32 Houston to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championships. Also jumping 10 spots was No. 43 LSU, who upset No. 26 Tennessee, 4-0, at the SEC Championships.
On the men’s side, the Trojans powered past UCLA 4-2 for a second win over the Bruins to take the regular season series 2-1 and earn the No.1 ranking. Texas A&M battled past No. 30 South Carolina, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 Florida to win the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship, earning the Aggies a three-spot jump and the No. 8 ranking. Stanford made the largest improvement in the rankings, avenging a 7-0 loss to California with a 5-2 win on Saturday to garner the No. 27 ranking, a 10-spot leap.
Jamie Loeb of UNC continued her reign in the ITA Division I Women’s Singles Rankings and is now is 45-2 on the season and is on a 20-match win streak. The Tar Heel is followed in the rankings by Robin Anderson (UCLA), Kristie Ahn (Stanford), Julia Elbaba (Virginia), and Hayley Carter (UNC). In doubles, Anderson and partner Jennifer Brady kept their No. 1 spot in the rankings, which they have held since February 25.
On the men’s side, Clay Thompson sits atop the ITA National Men’s Singles Rankings for the eighth straight time with a 37-4 record. He is followed by Julian Lenz (Baylor), Marcos Giron (UCLA), Mitchell Frank (Virginia) and Guillermo Alcorta (Oklahoma). Ole Miss’ Nik Scholtz earned a place in the Top 10 with his seventh and eighth consecutive victories. The Rebel bested No. 27 Hunter Reese and No. 11 Tom Jomby to improve nine spots to No. 9 in the ITA National Singles Rankings. In doubles, USC’s Ray Sarmiento and Yannick Hanfmann claimed the No. 1 ranking for the first time this season. The pair has a 13-1 overall record and an intact 10-match winning streak.