University of Georgia Athletics
Road to the NCAAs: History of the Tennis Championships
January 11, 2007 | General
ROAD TO THE NCAAs
Part one of 12 installments of NCAA Tennis features leading up to the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tennis National Championships to be held in Athens
ATHENS, Ga. – From May 17-28, the best collegiate tennis teams and student-athletes from across the country will be in Athens to showcase their talents at the University of Georgia’s tennis facilities in search of a national title.
The NCAA recognizes a national champion in men’s tennis every year since 1946 and has awarded one in tournament format since 1977. In the inaugural men’s tournament held at the University of Georgia, Stanford defeated UCLA in the team portion while the Cardinal’s Matt Mitchell was the singles champion and Bruce Manson and Chris Lewis of Southern California claimed the doubles crown.
Five years later, 1982 marked the year of first Women’s NCAA Tennis Championships. In the first women’s tournament, Stanford defeated UCLA in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Cardinal’s Alycia Mouton won the singles championship and the Bruins duo of Heather Ludloff and Lynn Lewis took the inaugural doubles honor.
The host Bulldogs have had several national champions of their own. The men’s team captured the title four times (1985, 1987, 1999, 2001) and has produced the singles champion four times (Mikael Pernfors in 1984 and 1985 and Matias Boeker in 2001 and 2002) and the doubles champion three times (Allen Miller and Ola Malmqvist in 1983, Boeker and Travis Parrott in 2001 and John Isner and Antonio Ruiz in 2005).
The women’s team claimed the national title in 1994 and 2000. It boasts two singles champions as well in Lisa Spain (1984) and Angela Lettiere (1994).
For the first time ever, both the men’s and women’s titles were contested in the same location in 2006 on the campus of Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. Georgia will host both tournaments this year as well, the second year of the dual championships format. This format is set to continue, with Tulsa serving as the 2008 host and Texas A&M in 2009.
In the Ranks
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its first rankings of 2007 Tuesday. The Georgia women appeared at No. 24 while the men’s team debuted at No. 1. This marks the first time the Bulldogs, who received 33 of 34 first-place votes, have opened at No. 1 since the 2002 season after winning the title in 2001.
Following Georgia in the men’s top 10 are Baylor, Ohio State, UCLA, Illinois, Ole Miss, Duke, Virginia, Stanford and defending national champion Pepperdine. The Waves lost three starters from the championship team who defeated Georgia for the program’s first NCAA tennis title a year ago.
Three-time defending national champion Stanford tops the women’s poll followed by Florida, USC, Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.), Baylor, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Northwestern and Duke. The Cardinal received 28 of 29 first-place votes in this poll, marking the 46th straight week at the top slot dating back to Feb. 10, 2004.
For the men, Ohio State’s Steven Moneke grabbed the No. 1 ranking after registering six victories over players in the Top 25 during the fall. Georgia senior John Isner follows at the No. 2 spot. Audra Cohen is No. 1 for the women. Cohen won the ITA National Indoors this fall and has been the No.-1 ranked player in the country five different times since 2005.
Georgia’s duo of Isner and Luis Flores own the No. 1 doubles spot, while the women’s top ranking belongs to William & Mary’s Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic. Isner, who already has an NCAA doubles title to his name, joined with Flores to win the ITA National Indoor and ITA All-American doubles titles. Moulton-Levy and Zoricic won the ITA National Indoors as well while compiling an 18-1 record in the fall.
The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts the most teams in the Top 25 on both sides, with seven in each. The Big XII, Pac-10 and SEC each have four in the men’s Top 25 while the Pac-10 follows in the women’s with five.
The next team rankings will be released on Jan. 30 and then weekly thereafter, while singles and double rankings will come out every other week beginning on Feb. 21.
Fila/ITA Top 25
Men
1. Georgia
2. Baylor
3. Ohio State
4. UCLA
5. Illinois
6. Mississippi
7. Duke
8. Virginia
9. Stanford
10. Pepperdine
11. Miami (Fla.)
12. Texas
13. Notre Dame
14. Va. Commonwealth
15. Florida State
16. Oklahoma State
17. Florida
18. Washington
19. California
20. Texas A&M
21. LSU
22. North Carolina
23. Clemson
24. Wake Forest
25. Boise State
Women
1. Stanford
2. Florida
3. Southern California
4. Notre Dame
5. Miami (Fla.)
6. Baylor
7. Georgia Tech
8. North Carolina
9. Northwestern
10. Duke
11. California
12. Vanderbilt
13. Va. Commonwealth
14. Pepperdine
15. UCLA
16. TCU
17. Clemson
18. Wake Forest
19. Kentucky
20. Texas
21. Fresno State
22. Harvard
23. Arizona State
24. Georgia
25. Virginia
Host of the 2007 NCAA Tennis Championships, May 17-28. For ticket and tournament information, please visit the NCAA Tournament central site on www.georgiadogs.com
