Tennis Teams Slide in ITA Rankings
3/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 21, 2001
WACO, Texas - For the second week in a row, both Baylor tennis teams fell in the latest team rankings, released Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The women's team slid four spots to 18th, while the men dropped to 43rd in the nation.
An eight-match winning streak wasn't enough to keep the Baylor women from falling to No. 18. The Bears are just two weeks removed from the program's highest-ever ranking at No. 13.
After ranking among the top 25 since December 1998, the Baylor men fell sharply from No. 25 in last week's ranking to No. 43 this week. That ranking is the lowest the Bears have earned since the team made its first-ever appearance in the ITA listing in December 1997, at No. 68.
Much of the slide for each team can be attributed to a change in the way the ITA rankings are prepared. In mid-March, the ITA switches from a committee vote to a point-per-match ranking system. This week's poll is the first ranking of the year determined by the point-per-match formula.
The drop by the men ended a 53-week run during which time the Baylor men's and women's tennis teams both ranked in the top 25. The streak dated to March 15, 2000, when the Baylor women moved into the top 25 at No. 18.
For a complete listing of the rankings, go to www.itatennis.com.
Each team is home for a pair of matches this weekend. The Baylor women host No. 10 Texas Thursday at 2 p.m. and No. 33 Arkansas Saturday at 1 p.m. The men's team hosts No. 63 Kansas at 1 p.m. Friday and No. 36 Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
