The University of Florida Gators women’s tennis team was on top for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Preseason Rankings. The Gators brought back seven members from the 2011 NCAA championship team.
This is the eighth time the Gators will start No. 1 since the rankings started during the 1985-86 season. The 2003-04 season was the last time the Gators topped the preseason standings.
The Gators went 31-1 during their national championship season and finished by defeating Stanford 4-3 in Stanford, Calif.
Florida will take on five of the Top 7 teams during the regular season. The Gators will travel to Stanford for a rematch of last year’s title game on Feb. 12. Florida will head to Baylor on Feb. 4 and go to Georgia to face its Southeastern Conference foe in the Bulldogs. The Gators will host North Carolina on Feb. 26 and Duke on March 14.
There are five Gators in the Top 41 preseason singles rankings. Allie Will leads the Gators by filling the No. 3 spot with teammate Joanna Mather following for No. 4. Lauren Embree came in at No. 25. The 34th spot went to sophomore Sofie Oyen and Alex Cercone was 41st.
In the doubles rankings, the Florida duo of Oyen and Will come in at No. 10 while Embree and Will are the 15th-ranked pair.
Some of the Gators will participate in the Freeman Memorial from Jan. 13-15 in Las Vegas. Florida will start team play on Jan. 25 at home against Troy.
Women’s National Team Rankings, Administered by the ITA
January 3, 2012
Rank School Average
1. Florida 1.00
2. Stanford 2.00
3. Duke 3.17
4. North Carolina 4.83
5. UCLA 5.08
6. Baylor 6.42
7. Georgia 7.29
8. California 8.50
9. Virginia 9.63
10. Michigan 10.04
Gators in the National Singles Rankings
3. Allie Will
4. Joanna Mather
25. Lauren Embree
34. Sofie Oyen
41. Alex Cercone
Gator Teams in the National Doubles Rankings
10. Sofie Oyen & Allie Will
15. Lauren Embree & Joanna Mather
Gator Country reporter Sara Ladwig can be reached at sladwig@gatorcountry.com