Women's Tennis Earns Highest-Ever Final Ranking
Jun 2, 2003 | Women's Tennis
June 2, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - - The Tulane women's tennis team earned its highest-ever final ranking, and freshmen Jenny Kuhn and Julie Smekodub both earned All-America honors, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its final rankings on Monday.
The Green Wave finished the year ranked 28th by the ITA, marking the highest final ranking in school history. The Wave's previous best was a No. 39 ranking after the 2001 campaign. In addition, three Tulane freshmen finished the year ranked in the singles polls.
Julie Smekodub ended the year ranked 34th in singles after reaching the Round of 16 in the singles draw at the NCAA Championship. Jenny Kuhn finished the year ranked 72nd, and also competed in the singles draw of the NCAA Tournament. Fellow freshman Erika Valdes came in ranked 113th in the final ITA singles poll.
In addition, Kuhn and Smekodub found themselves ranked 10th in the final ITA doubles poll, earning All-America honors in the process. The duo reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Doubles Championship after having won the ITA National Indoors title last fall. Smekodub's appearance in the singles Round of 16 also earned her All-America honors, making her one of just 10 players nationally to earn All-America accolades in both singles and doubles.
"Both Jenny and Julie had great seasons this year and are very deserving of All-America status," Tulane head coach David Schumacher said. "We've never had an All-American before this year, and now we have two, which is a great accomplishment for this program."
In order to earn singles All-America honors from the ITA, a player must earn a Top 16 seed or reach the Round of 16 in the NCAA singles draw. In addition, a player can earn All-America honors by finishing in the Top 20 of the ITA singles rankings. A player can earn doubles All-America honors by earning a top eight seed or reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles draw or by finishing ranked 10th or better in the final ITA doubles rankings.
