The University of Florida switch spots with Stanford atop the ITA Division I Women’s Tennis Team Rankings that were released Tuesday morning.
The Gators (25-1) and Cardinal (23-0) have alternated the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings throughout the year, with this final regular-season chart marking Florida’s sixth appearance at the top spot in the 16-week run. The final poll of the 2010-11 season will be released at the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, held at Stanford’s Taube (pronounced TOE-bee) Family Tennis Stadium, May 20-31.
The NCAA Team Championships 64-team field will be announced today at 5 p.m. ET, through NCAA.com. The top 16 seeds that have bid to play host to the first two rounds of the event will receive that information, as well, during the 30-minute selection show. The women’s first and seconds rounds are scheduled to be held at 16 different campus sites May 14 and 15, with the winner of each advancing to Stanford for the remainder of the tournament.
For the second consecutive week, six Gators appeared in the ITA National Singles rankings, paced by Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.), who is No. 7 in this week’s chart. Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) is No. 17, followed by Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) at No. 42, Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) at No. 53, Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) at No. 54 and Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) at No. 91.
Six doubles teams also received notice in the national listing, with active pairings of Cercone and Will climbing to No. 2 and Embree and Oyen to No. 45. Also earning a doubles ranking is the tandem of Oyen and Will at No. 10, Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) and Mather at No. 37, Embree and Mather at No. 54 and Cercone and Janowicz at No. 75.
