Deacons Appear in Final National Rankings
6/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
2015-16 Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Collegiate Tennis Rankings
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Wake Forest women's tennis team was slotted No. 29 in the final 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, released last week by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Three Demon Deacon individuals were also included in the final singles and doubles rankings, which were unveiled on Wednesday.
Kimmy Guerin came in at No. 67 in the final national singles rankings and was joined by teammate Emma Davis, who finished at No. 107. Guerin and Anna Ulyashchenko were ranked No. 44 in doubles.
Davis is the first Wake Forest freshman to finish in national rankings since Alex Hirsch and Ashlee Davis did so in 2004, while Guerin and Ulyashchenko make up the first Deacon duo to finish nationally ranked since Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert in 2011 and 2012.
After finishing unranked in 2015 and entering 2016 at No. 71, the Deacons ended the season at No. 29 for their highest final ranking in nine years. The Deacs' 19 wins were their most since 2002 and their seventh-place ACC finish was their best since 2007. The team also appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
A Second Team All-ACC honoree, Guerin was the first Demon Deacon since 2011 to compete in NCAA Singles Championships. She climbed to a career-best No. 44 in the national singles rankings during the season, taking down eight ranked opponents. She was a catalyst behind the Deacs' first 9-0 start in program history by winning her first nine singles matches, including eight victories at the No. 1 spot.
Overall singles, the Weston, Conn. was 21-18, including 16-11 in dual matches. Of her 27 completed spring contests, 26 were at the top spot in the lineup.
In doubles, Guerin and Ulyashchenko went 16-13 overall with a 13-12 spring ledger. The tandem defeated four ranked pairings and played at the No. 1 position in the doubles lineup 27 times.
Davis, who capped her first collegiate campaign 28-15 in singles with a 16-12 dual-match record, made it to No. 103 in the national singles during the spring, the highest a Wake Forest freshman has been slotted since 2006. Serving as the Deacs' primary No. 2 singles player, the Cohasset, Mass. native had four ranked singles wins, including a 6-3, 6-3 ACC Tournament quarterfinal triumph over No. 39 Whitney Kay of North Carolina.
Players Mentioned
