On January 5th, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its pre-season poll for the women’s Division I NCAA tennis season. It comes as no surprise that the initial 2015-2016 rankings are only slightly different from the final 2014-2015 ITA rankings.
Only 13 conferences are represented in the top 50 teams with the SEC and ACC filling 22 of the 50 slots. The number of teams from each conference are listed in the table below.
| # of Teams | Conference |
|---|---|
| 12 | SEC |
| 10 | ACC |
| 6 | Big 10 |
| 6 | Big 12 |
| 5 | PAC-12 |
| 2 | AAC |
| 2 | Ivy League |
| 2 | West Coast Conference |
| 1 | Big East |
| 1 | Big West |
| 1 | Colonial Athletic Association |
| 1 | C-USA |
| 1 | MVC |
The January 5th ITA rankings of the top 10 singles players are dominated by athletes from the ACC. Six of the top 10 players are from 4 schools in the ACC, two are from the PAC 12, and one player is from the SEC and Big 10.
| ITA Ranking | Avg | Player | School | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 64.91 | Joana Eidukonyte | Clemson | ACC |
| 2 | 64.81 | Francesca Di Lorenzo | Ohio State | Big 10 |
| 3 | 60.17 | Belinda Woolcock | Florida | SEC |
| 4 | 56.35 | Danielle Collins | Virginia | ACC |
| 5 | 56.14 | Maegan Manasse | California | PAC-12 |
| 6 | 54.31 | Hayley Carter | North Carolina | ACC |
| 7 | 53.23 | Sinead Lohan | Miami (FL) | ACC |
| 8 | 52.78 | Julia Elbaba | Virginia | ACC |
| 9 | 49.28 | Stephanie Wagner | Miami (FL) | ACC |
| 10 | 49.25 | Klara Fabikova | California | PAC-12 |
While it is fun to follow the polls throughout the season, the early rankings (February and early March) may not be a good indicator of what is really happening. The rankings become more reliable once teams complete their preseason matches and are well into their conference season.
| ITA Ranking | School | 2014-15 Final Rank | Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanderbilt | 1 | SEC | |
| 2 | USC | 2 | PAC-12 | |
| 3 | Florida | 6 | SEC | |
| 4 | North Carolina | 4 | ACC | |
| 4 | Georgia | 5 | SEC | |
| 6 | California | 7 | PAC-12 | |
| 7 | Virginia | 9 | ACC | |
| 8 | Stanford | 11 | PAC-12 | |
| 9 | UCLA | 3 | PAC-12 | |
| 10 | Texas A&M | 10 | SEC | |
| 11 | Baylor | 8 | Big 12 | |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 12 | Big 12 | |
| 13 | Miami | 15 | ACC | |
| 14 | Michigan | 13 | Big 10 | |
| 15 | Alabama | 14 | SEC | |
| 16 | Duke | 19 | ACC | |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 16 | Big 12 | |
| 18 | Ohio State | 21 | Big 10 | |
| 19 | Pepperdine | 22 | West Coast Conference | |
| 20 | Clemson | 18 | ACC | |
| 21 | LSU | 23 | SEC | |
| 22 | TCU | 17 | Big 12 | |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 20 | ACC | |
| 24 | Kentucky | 25 | SEC | |
| 25 | Mississippi | 24 | SEC | |
| 26 | Northwestern | 26 | Big 10 | |
| 27 | Arizona State | 27 | PAC-12 | |
| 28 | South Carolina | 29 | SEC | |
| 29 | Mississippi State | 32 | SEC | |
| 30 | Virginia Tech | 30 | ACC | |
| 31 | Rice | 28 | C-USA | |
| 32 | Dartmouth | 31 | Ivy League | |
| 33 | Notre Dame | 36 | ACC | |
| 34 | DePaul | 33 | Big East | |
| 35 | Oklahoma | 35 | Big 12 | |
| 36 | Arkansas | 38 | SEC | |
| 37 | Florida State | 39 | ACC | |
| 38 | Houston | 34 | AAC | |
| 39 | Wichita State | 41 | MVC | |
| 40 | Long Beach State | 40 | Big West | |
| 41 | Texas | 37 | Big 12 | |
| 42 | Auburn | 46 | SEC | |
| 43 | Princeton | 42 | Ivy League | |
| 44 | Purdue | 43 | Big 10 | |
| 45 | Saint Mary's (CA) | 44 | West Coast Conference | |
| 46 | William & Mary | 49 | Colonial Athletic Association | |
| 47 | Tulsa | 51 | AAC | |
| 47 | Penn State | 47 | Big 10 | |
| 49 | Boston College | 50 | ACC | |
| 50 | Indiana | 48 | Big 10 |
It will be interesting to see if Vanderbilt ends the season in the top spot and if Joana Eidukonyte captures the D1 singles title.