Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25: April 7, 2021

ORLANDO, Fla.– The State of Florida saw big moves made from several of its programs this week as the Tennis Channel / USTA College Tennis Top 25 showcased each side's competitive depth and thin margins for error.

 

The UCF men jumped from No. 17 to No. 13 after a 3-0 week that included a win over then-No. 12 Wake Forest. The University of Florida women, meanwhile, rose six spots to No. 18 following wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt, led by senior McCartney Kessler (Calhoun, Ga.; pictured above).

 

On the flip side, a 4-3 road loss to Texas saw the Texas A&M men slide from No. 7 to No. 11, where the Aggies are just six points back of No. 8 Ohio State ahead of this weekend's matches at Georgia and Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Stanford women's 4-3 losses to Pepperdine and at unranked Oregon saw the Cardinal slip to No. 14 ahead of a weekend road trip to Los Angeles for matches at UCLA and USC.

 

Each team's point total, specified below, is the sum of its ranking points from the USTA's panel of 15 voters (listed below). Each voter ranked 25 teams from Nos. 1 to 25, with the first-place team receiving 25 points and the last-place team receiving one. For control, the highest and lowest outlying ranking for each team on the ballot was removed. First-place votes were not tallied. This week's poll includes 15 voters for the first time in 2021, making the maximum number of points available 325.

 

The voting panel includes: Casey Angle, former ITA Director of Championships; Virgil Christian, former USTA Director of College Tennis; Richard Croome, former sports journalist; Sonny Dearth, sports journalist for the Daily Press (Va.) and Virginian-Pilot; Judy Dixon, former UMass head coach; Alex Gruskin, Cracked Racquets; J. Webb Horton, former FGCU head coach; Granger Huntress, Texas College Tennis; Bobby Knight, College Tennis Today; Brandon Moglen, Tennis Channel; Michael Patrick, former Tennessee head coach; Lisa Stone, Parenting Aces; Caitlin Thompson, Racquet Magazine; Scott Treibly, USTA; Shannon Wrege/Dallas Oliver, Tennis Recruiting Network.

 

The rankings will be released each Wednesday on Tennis Channel’s and the USTA’s platforms, including the USTA’s Top 25 homepage, through the conclusion of the 2021 NCAA Championship, which will be held at the USTA National Campus.

 

Men

Rank (Last Week's Ranking) – Points

1. (1) Florida – 322

2. (2) North Carolina – 314

3. (3) Baylor – 294

4. (4) Virginia – 292

5. (5) Tennessee – 245

6. (6) Texas – 243

7. (8) Michigan – 238

8. (9) Ohio State – 226

9. (10) TCU – 223

10. (11) Illinois – 222

11. (7) Texas A&M – 220

12. (13) USC – 181

13. (17) UCF – 173

14. (12) Wake Forest – 150

15. (16) Georgia – 149

16. (14) South Carolina – 113

17. (15) Arizona – 110

18. (T19) UCLA – 105

19. (23) Kentucky – 84

20. (18) Mississippi – 75

21. (NR) Stanford – 60

22. (T19) Mississippi State – 52

23. (21) NC State – 43

24. (NR) Alabama – 41

25. (24) Arizona State – 17

Receiving Votes: Pepperdine 13, Arkansas 7, Georgia Tech 5, Oklahoma 4, VCU 3

Dropped Out: Pepperdine (22), Georgia Tech (25)

 

Women

Rank (Last Week's Ranking) – Points

1. (1) North Carolina – 325

2. (2) Texas – 312

3. (3) Georgia – 299

4. (4) UCLA – 279

5. (5) Pepperdine – 277

6. (6) Florida State – 260

7. (8) Ohio State – 236

8. (10) NC State – 219

9. (11) Northwestern – 217

10. (13) Michigan – 201

11. (9) Virginia – 182

12. (14) Baylor – 179

13. (12) Duke – 176

14. (7) Stanford – 140

15. (16) UCF – 130

16. (T19) California – 119

17. (15) Georgia Tech – 107

18. (24) Florida – 94

19. (23) LSU – 87

20. (21) Tennessee – 85

21. (25) Miami (Fla.) – 76

22. (22) Texas A&M – 46

23. (17) Auburn – 44

24. (NR) Oklahoma – 34

25. (18) Vanderbilt – 25

Receiving Votes: Kentucky 16, South Carolina 7, Florida International 2, Oregon 2

Dropped Out: Kentucky (T19)

 

Note: The Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings are available at wearecollegetennis.com.

 

 

Around College Tennis

NCAA Division II

• The University of Indianapolis Greyhounds were a unanimous No. 1 in the ITA DII women's poll on March 23, and currently sit at 11-0 on the season. That includes two victories over DI programs.
• The undefeated ITA No. 1 Columbus State men had its biggest scare of the year but escaped No. 7 Valdosta State with a 4-3 win last week, and now sits at 14-0.

NCAA Division III

• Some DIII teams have resumed match play recently. That includes 2019 NCAA women's champion Wesleyan (CT), which topped Williams in its opener. Wesleyan is looking forward to two huge matchups with 2019 quarterfinalist Amherst on Saturday and then 2019 semifinalist Middlebury on April 17.
• Meanwhile, 2019 NCAA men's semifinalist Chicago fell just short of topping DI crosstown foe Chicago State on April 5, 5-4. The Maroons will have another shot at a DI opponent when they face DePaul on Friday.

NAIA

• Georgia Gwinnett men have continued their record run and have now won 141 consecutive matches. On March 26, they defeated reigning NCAA DIII champion Emory, 7-0. The GGC women join the men at first in the respective NAIA coaches polls.
• Right behind Georgia Gwinnett in both the NAIA men's and women's polls is Keiser (Fla.). The Seahawk men are 13-1, with their lone loss being a 4-3 decision to NCAA DI Florida Gulf Coast, while the women are 10-1, with their only defeat coming at the hands of NCAA DII No. 14 Flagler.

 

Pictured at top: McCartney Kessler, UF senior

Photo courtesy of the Universty of Florida