Carolina Women’s Tennis Climbs To No. 12 In New National Rankings

April 24, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. – After a memorable showing in last weekend’s SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament, the South Carolina women’s tennis team climbed five spots to No. 12 in the new Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings released Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association office in Skillman, N.J.

The Gamecocks (16-7) jumped nearly 23 points in the computer ranking, passing SEC foes Kentucky and Tennessee on their way to the No. 12 ranking. That lofty post is Carolina’s highest ranking since closing the 1999 season at No. 12. That year, USC hosted an NCAA Regional and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

The jump in the polls is due to Carolina’s first ever run to the championship match of the SEC Tournament. USC faced higher ranked opponents in each of their three tournament matches, going 2-1. The Gamecocks knocked off 13th-ranked Tennessee before shocking the tennis establishment with a 4-2 win over then top-ranked Georgia. The Bulldogs fell two spots to No. 3 in Wednesday’s poll. Stanford is the new No. 1 team, followed by SEC Tournament Champion Florida. Duke and North Carolina round out the Top 5.

In the new individual rankings also released Wednesday, USC’s Jennifer Radman soared 18 spots to No. 48 in the nation, the highest ranking of her career. Radman was previously ranked No. 48 during her sophomore season. Joining her in the Top 100 is fellow senior Katarina Markovski (No. 71) and junior Kathy Boyanovich, who is back in the rankings at No. 84 after falling out on April 3.

In doubles action, the USC resume gets even more impressive. Jennifer Radman and Kathy Boyanovich check in at No. 18 in the nation while Lynn-Yin Tan and Jodi Kenoyer stand at No. 34. For Kenoyer, a junior from Lighthouse Point, Fla., who is tied for the team lead in singles wins with 24 (along with Tan), the No. 34 ranking is the highest of her collegiate career.

The Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings are a primary tool used by the NCAA to select both the 64-team tournament field and the players for the individual NCAA Championships, which both take place in May. The NCAA selection show airs live May 2 at 7:00 p.m. on the Internet at ncaachampionships.com.

National Team Rankings

Rank Pts. School

1 136.04 Stanford University

2 132.97 University of Florida

3 127.34 Univ. of Georgia

4 119.79 Duke University

5 116.36 UNC Chapel Hill

6 116.08 UCLA

7 115.64 Vanderbilt University

8 103.81 Wake Forest University

9 99.42 Arizona State University

10 96.53 Univ. of Texas at Austin