Kansas Tennis Reaches Program-Best ITA Ranking

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s tennis rose to a program-high No. 45 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top-75 rankings announced by the ITA Tuesday. The ranking is the highest Kansas (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) has been in ITA’s weekly list in the program’s history.

“This ranking is a huge testament to the hard work the players on the team, the coaching staff and the university have put into KU women’s tennis,” said first-year head coach Todd Chapman. “It’s exciting for the girls.They get to see reward for the hard work they’ve been putting in and their dedication to making the changes they need to make.”

Previously, Kansas’ highest ranking in the ITA’s weekly poll was No. 52 on June 2, 2001. Before 2000, the ITA only released end-of-season rankings. Over the past 14 years, week-by-week rankings became available. The highest end-of-season ranking for KU came when the Jayhawks completed their season at No. 7. in 1994, the year Rebecca Jensen and Nora Koves won the NCAA Doubles Championship

Kansas debuted on the 2014 chart at No. 70 on Feb. 11, then climbed to No. 60 on Feb. 18, the highest for the program in seven years. The Jayhawks have defeated three teams that have been ranked this season, including No. 30 Houston on Feb. 14, then- No.  36 Nebraska on Jan. 31 and current No. 54 Coloroado on Feb. 7. KU suffered its first loss on Feb. 21 against Kentucky, which has risen to No. 31 in this week’s chart.

“The mindset at this point has to be about not being satisfied,” said Chapman. “We can’t be satisfied with what we achieved. We have to keep our goals in mind and it’s a great starting point. But we’ve got a long way to go in our minds. It’s exciting but it definitely doesn’t mean the work stops.”

The Jayhawks will return to the court this Friday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m., at the Jayhawk Tennis Center against in-state rival No. 49 Wichita State.

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