SKILLMAN, NJ – Following a busy weekend of conference championship action, Oracle and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced the updated Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for Division I men on Tuesday.
Despite falling to Wake Forest in the 2016 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship final, the University of Virginia continues to hold down the No. 1 team ranking. The Cavaliers did exact a measure of revenge at the ACC tournament, rallying back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 3 North Carolina 4-3, their first victory over the Tar Heels in three tries this season.
Wake Forest, which won its first ACC tournament title (a 63-year span) and snapped Virginia’s nine-year streak of ACC tournament titles, moved up one spot to No. 6 in the rankings, giving the ACC three teams in the Top 10. The Big 12 saw Texas Tech and TCU share the regular-season crown, following the Red Raiders’ victory over the Horned Frogs. Both teams are in the Top 10, with TCU at No. 5 and Texas Tech at No. 8.
UCLA, winners of the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles, remains the nation’s No. 2-ranked team.
Ohio State’s Mikael Torpegaard and Florida’s Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo remain the top-ranked singles player and doubles team. Ohio State clinched its 11th consecutive Big Ten regular-season title over the weekend, topping ranked foes Northwestern and Illinois, each by a 4-0 margin. The Buckeyes didn’t drop a single point in conference play. The Gators, meanwhile, prevailed over the Bulldogs of Georgia to win their fifth SEC Tournament Championship in program history.
Top-Ranked Cavaliers Now Look Towards Defending NCAA Crown
Virginia closed out the 2016 regular season with a 24-4 record. The defending NCAA National Champion will look to defend its title next month. The Cavaliers, who have won 13 straight ACC regular-season championships, have a pair of players in the Top 10 of the singles rankings (Ryan Shane at No. 8 and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski at No. 9), in addition to Shane and Luca Corinteli the current No. 3-ranked team in doubles.
For full relase go to ITATennis.com