Jan. 5, 2011
Complete ITA Rankings
WACO, Texas - After starting each of the past two seasons ranked fourth, the Baylor women's tennis team earned its highest-ever ranking to begin a season, being tabbed No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released this week.
"Our expectations are always high, but it's a great accomplishment to get the highest preseason ranking in program history," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "But, at the end of the day, the only ranking that matters to us is the one at the end of the season. That is the one you must truly earn."
Individually, the Lady Bears will begin the season with three players ranked in the ITA's top 125. Junior transfer Sona Novakova cracked the top 20, posting an 11-2 fall record in singles to earn a No. 19 ranking. Last season's wins leader Nina Secerbegovic will begin the season ranked 40th, while Karolina Filipiak was 12-4 in the fall and is ranked No. 122.
Scrivano's club is coming off a spectacular 2010 season, posting a 30-3 record and an Elite Eight appearance against eventual champion Stanford. The Lady Bears will, however, be without the services of graduated All-Americans Lenka Broosova and Csilla Borsanyi.
The addition of transfers Novakova and Diana Nakic, along with the addition of freshmen Cristina Danaila and Abby Stainback will help fill the gaps for a shot at another Big 12 title and NCAA Championship berth. Veteran all-Big 12 performers Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk, along with Filipiak also return for Baylor.
The 2011 squad will enter the season with some major streaks to try to continue, including a 56-match win streak over Big 12 opponents, which features 42 in a row during the regular season. Baylor also won its sixth consecutive Big 12 regular season title and fifth consecutive Big 12 Championship title in 2010.
Baylor will play one more tournament, the National Collegiate Tennis Classic on Jan. 14-16 in Palm Springs, Calif., before beginning the dual-match season at home against Houston on Jan. 21 at 3:30 p.m.
