Cowgirl Tennis Receives National Ranking

The Wyoming Cowgirl Tennis program begins the 2013 spring season ranked in the first Campbell’s/ITA National Rankings released on Thursday by the ITA. Two individuals were also recognized in both the National and Mountain Regional Rankings.

Wyoming as a team received a national ranking of 61st among 323 schools that participate in Division I women’s tennis. They finished the 2012 campaign in the same spot after going 14-9 overall. The top five include Florida, UCLA, Duke, USC and Stanford.

The UW doubles team of Veronica Popovici and Simona Synkova were also recognized in both doubles and singles. This spring, they are 52nd nationally and second in the Mountain Region. The duo earned a preseason fall ranking of 21. They would go 11-2 overall falling short in the title match of the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament.

In singles, Popovici is fifth in the first Mountain Regional rankings while Synkova is ninth. A junior from Piatra Neamt, Romania, Popovici went 7-3 during the fall which included a five match winning streak. She would reach the semifinals of the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament. Synkova, a senior from Brastislava, Slovakia, recorded a 7-2 overall mark during the fall while winning the BYU Invitational. Both players also participated at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships in singles and doubles.

In Division I, the ITA (International Tennis Association) National Rankings are determined by a computerized system, using the ITA’s average points-per-match formula. The Division top 75 teams, top 125 singles players and top 60 doubles teams receive an ITA ranking. Division I Regional rankings are released twice a year (fall and year-end). The top 15 teams, top 30 singles players and top 15 doubles teams are ranked for men and women in each of the eight ITA regions.

Wyoming will begin their spring season on Saturday, Jan. 19, as they play Eastern Washington. The match is set for 7:00 p.m. MT in Pullman.