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VU Women’s Tennis Ranked No. 2 in ITA Post-season Poll 6/9/2004 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Intercollegiate Tennis Association awarded the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team for advancing to the NCAA Semifinals with a No. 2 national ranking in its post-season poll. The Commodores jumped ahead of Florida, who failed to advance to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, and were placed behind only national champion Stanford. The duo of Kelly Schmandt and Aleke Tsoubanos also was lauded for reaching the semifinal round of NCAA Doubles Tournament. Schmandt and Tsoubanos were ranked No. 2 nationally, behind only Barnikow and Burdette of Stanford. Junior Audra Falk jumped into the ITA’s Top 10 for the first time in her career by advancing to the NCAA Singles Quarterfinals. With a national ranking of No. 9, Falk becomes the first Vanderbilt underclassmen to finish the season in the top 10. Falk, Schmandt and Tsoubanos earned All-America status from the ITA. It was the third-such honor for Tsoubanos, who paired with Schmandt during the 2003-04 season after playing with Sarah Riske from 2001-03. Schmandt and Falk both earned their first All-America honor, in doubles and singles, respectively. The No. 2 team finish marks the best post-season national ranking for any Vanderbilt varsity team. The 2004 women’s tennis team compiled a 26-4 record (10-1 Southeastern Conference) and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second time in four years. In the final ITA national poll, Schmandt (50) and Tsoubanos (93) also earned singles rankings, while the doubles team of Falk and Annie Menees was tabbed 55th in the country. Regionally, the Commodores were the No. 1 team in the Southeast, ahead of Clemson, Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee. Falk was ranked second in the region, while the Schmandt/Tsoubanos pairing was named the top doubles team. Schmandt (14), Tsoubanos (19) and freshman Amanda Fish (23) also earned regional singles rankings. The Falk/Menees duo was ranked eighth in the Southeast in doubles.
ITA Women’s National Rankings (Final) Team 1. Stanford 2. Vanderbilt 3. Florida 4. UCLA 5. Clemson 6. Duke 7. Georgia 8. Southern Cal 9. Washington 10. Northwestern Singles 1. Amber Liu, Stanford 2. Alexis Gordon, Florida 3. Raquel Kops-Jones 4. Cristelle Grier, Northwestern 5. Megan Bradley, Miami 6. Jelena Pandzic, Fresno State 7. Anda Perianu, Oklahoma 8. Julie Coin, Clemson 9. Audra Falk, Vanderbilt 10. Amanda Johnson, Duke 50. Kelly Schmandt, Vanderbilt 93. Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt Doubles 1. Barnikow/Burdette, Stanford 2. Schmandt/Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt 3. Rush/Grier, Northwestern 4. Mlakar/Hollands, Arizona 5. Lukowski/Kovacek, New Mexico 55. Menees/Falk, Vanderbilt
ITA Women’s Regional Rankings (Final): Southeast Team 1. Vanderbilt 2. Clemson 3. Duke 4. Kentucky 5. Tennessee Singles 1. Julie Coin, Clemson 2. Audra Falk, Vanderbilt 3. Aibika Kalsarieva, Kentucky 4. Amanda Johnson, Duke 5. Aniela Mojzis, North Carolina 14. Kelly Schmandt, Vanderbilt 19. Aleke Tsoubanos, Vanderbilt 23. Amanda Fish, Vanderbilt Doubles 1. Tsoubanos/Schmandt, Vanderbilt 2. Venter/Kruse, Middle Tennessee 3. Coin/Brito, Clemson 4. Cline/Mojzis, North Carolina 5. Kalsarieva/Foster, Kentucky 8. Menees/Falk, Vanderbilt |
