Emory Women’s Tennis Ranked Third after Fall Season

The Emory University women's tennis team will being their 2011 spring season as the third-ranked squad among all NCAA Division III teams, according to the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll.

Emory, which finished second at the 2010 NCAA Division III team championships, is currently behind only top-ranked Amherst College and second-ranked Williams College.  The top-three rankings are identical to last season's fall poll.

The Eagles are the highest ranked Atlantic South Region team in the initial poll.  Emory is also one of six University Athletic Association (UAA) teams ranked in the top-30, along with the University of Chicago (#4), Carnegie Mellon University (#8), Washington University (#16), the University of Rochester (#20) and Brandeis University (#28).

Members of the Emory squad were also prominently featured in the Atlantic South Regional rankings as well.  Junior Zahra Dawson, who won the ITA Fall Regional Championships, is ranked second among all singles players, followed by third-ranked freshman and teammate Gabrielle Clark.  Sophomore Jordan Wylie is ranked eighth in the region, while senior Lorne McManigle is ranked 10^th, and sophomore Kelsey Grad, 15^th.

In the regional doubles rankings, Dawson and McManigle comprise the top-ranked pairing in the region, after finishing second at the NCAA Division III Championships last May and winning the ITA Fall Regionals in October.  Freshmen Brenna Kelly and Clark placed fourth in the doubles rankings.

Emory will open its spring season on February 13, 2011 with matches against Auburn University Montgomery and Huntingdon College.