Wake Forest Athletics
Duncan and Talbert Ranked No. 14 in ITA Doubles Rankings
1/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 5, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Women's tennis players Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert were ranked No. 14 nationally in doubles, becoming the highest-ranked Wake Forest doubles team in over eight years, and the Demon Deacons came in at No. 52 in the team rankings, in the initial 2011 release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.
Martina Pavelec was Wake's lone representative in the singles rankings, earning the No. 62 spot, and the doubles team of Pavelec and Duncan was also ranked No. 83 overall.
Duncan and Talbert are the highest-ranked Wake Forest doubles team since 2002 when All-Americans Bea Bielik and Janet Bergman finished the season ranked No. 3. The duo went a perfect 4-0 in fall tournament play this season, including wins over tandems from NC State, Tennessee and LSU.
"Having Kathryn and Kayla earn such a high ranking is definitely a great way to start our spring season," said head coach Jeff Wyshner. "There will be a big target on their back for the next few months, so they will have to work really hard to defend their ranking and to try to improve into the top 10 where you earn All-American honors if you end the year there."
Both players earned bids to the NCAA Doubles Championship last year, with Duncan, who was then at TCU, reaching the second round. Talbert teamed with Sasha Kulikova ('10), and the pair finished the year ranked No. 21 nationally.
Wake Forest's other ranked doubles team of Pavelec and Duncan posted a 6-2 fall record, highlighted by the duo winning their way through the pre-qualifying draw at the ITA All-American Championship.
Pavelec, who is expected to occupy the top position in the Demon Deacon singles lineup, remained in the national singles rankings after notching a 9-4 record this fall. The Stuttgart, Germany native earned All-ACC honors last season and was the recipient of the 2010 ITA Player to Watch Award for the Carolina Region.
Wake's No. 52 preseason ranking comes on the heels of the team missing the NCAA Tournament in 2010 for the first time in seven seasons, but the Deacs will look to turn things around this year as Wyshner begins his first season at the helm of the squad.
"The team and singles rankings are where we expected them to be," said Wyshner. "But they will definitely provide motivation for us to prove to others that we are better than those rankings reflect."
Wake Forest will open dual match play on January 23 with a home match against Winthrop at 12 p.m. at the Indoor Tennis Center.
