Thursday, 03/07/2013

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- The Gaucho women earn an ITA record high ranking of 54 this week, after a great win over CSUN.

Head Coach Simon Thibodeau took over the Gaucho Women Tennis Team this year, with hopes of improving, and within months, the team gains an ITA record high of 54 in the nation. 

After losing three starters and a coach from last season, the team was not sure what to expect, or how exactly they would do, thinking that this year may be a transition year, but they were far off.

"For us to be doing so well so far goes to show how hard we have been working and how unified we are as a team." Player April Scatliffe says on their performance.

The Gauchos gained four players to the team, as well as a new coach, piecing back together what they would hope to be a winning team.

The Gauchos have not been ranked this high in over twenty years, making the closest they have been to 54, was in 2011 when they were ranked 57.

"It is extremely awesome and I am very proud of all of us. With losing three of our starters from last year who graduated and then getting a new coach, transitioning to this year was a little tough!" Scatliffe comments on the Gauchos transition.

The women hold a 6-3 record thus far, only losing to Long Beach State, UC Irvine, and University of San Francisco. The women were able to capture wins from schools such as UC Riverside, Loyola Marymount, and Colorado.

"We haven't even been focusing on reaching a certain ranking , we've just been taking on one match at a time and performing and fighting as hard as we can. So far we have done that and have been truly enjoying this season. Getting the No. 54 ranking is just icing on the cake." Scattliffe says of her teams' accomplishments.

The Gaucho Women are set to travel to Arlington, Texas for a weekend full of play; starting with Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 10:00am and finishing out with Texas-Arlington on Sunday at 10:00am.