Virginia and Vanderbilt Top Final Oracle/ITA National Collegiate Tennis Rankings

May 26, 2015 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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With the NCAA Championships in the books, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced the final Oracle/ITA National Collegiate Tennis Rankings of the 2014-2015 season. On the women's side, Vanderbilt won the NCAA title over UCLA, while Virginia beat Oklahoma on the men's side, each victory propelling the teams to the top of the rankings. Both schools are ranked number one for the first time this season.

Vanderbilt, which began the spring with a shaky 4-4 record, proved it's not how you start but how you finish. Winners of 21 of their last 23 matches and 10 in a row, the Commodores won SEC and NCAA Championships and claimed the final number one ranking of the 2014-15 season.

After achieving the program's first number one ranking since 2003 this season, USC was edged by Vanderbilt from the top spot and finished the year ranked number two. NCAA Championship runner-up UCLA rose from number six from number three in the final rankings, while North Carolina, which lost to UCLA in the Elite Eight, fell from second to fourth. NCAA Semifinalist Georgia moved up two spots to number five.

Florida reached the NCAA Elite Eight but fell one spot from fifth to sixth, falling behind SEC rival Georgia. Number seven Cal, upset by rival Stanford in the NCAA Sweet 16, fell from number three. Despite the upset, number 11 Stanford finished outside the Top 10, the first finish outside the Top 10 for the Cardinal since at least 1987.

Baylor and Virginia flip-flopped the eighth and ninth in rankings this week, with the numnber eight Baylor edging the number nine Cavaliers in the NCAA Sweet 16 for its third victory over Virginia this season. Rounding out the Top 10 is Texas A&M, which retained the number 10 ranking after advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Upon winning their second NCAA Championship in the last three seasons and in program history, the Virginia Cavaliers reclaimed the top spot in the Oracle/ITA National Collegiate Tennis Rankings for the first time since Feb. 4, 2014. The Cavaliers defeated Oklahoma 4-1 in the title match to knock the Sooners out of the number one slot for the first time since Feb. 24, with Oklahoma having topped the rankings for nine straight editions. The Sooners finish as the number two team and NCAA runners-up for the second straight season.

A trio of Texas teams filled the next few spots, with Baylor, TCU and Texas A&M rounding out the top five. Baylor and TCU both made runs to the Final Four and Texas A&M were ousted in the NCAA Quarterfinals by the eventual champion Cavaliers.

Illinois comes in as the top-ranked Big Ten team, finishing sixth after a 27-5 campaign, a Sweet 16 appearance and a Big Ten Tournament title. USC ends 2015 ranked seventh after a 25-5 season was ended by host Baylor in the NCAA Quarterfinals, the ninth straight appearance for the Trojans in the final eight. Rounding out the Top 10 are Georgia, Texas and Duke, respectively. North Carolina finished 11th and was the only team outside the Top 10 to make the NCAA Quarterfinals.  


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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