Thursday, May 29, 2008

TUSCULUM MEN’S TENNIS RANKED NO. 34 IN NCAA II,

BEST NATIONAL RANKING IN SCHOOL HISTORY

SKILLMAN, N.J. --- The Tusculum College men’s tennis team is ranked 34^th in the nation according to the final 2007-08 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II National Rankings announced officials Thursday. The No. 34 ranking is the best end of the year listing in the program’s history. It also marks the fourth time in the last seven years that TC has earned a national ranking at the end of the season.

Tusculum (20-2) established a pair of school records in victories (20) and won-loss percentage (.909) for a season. The Pioneers also recorded a 15-match winning streak, the longest in school history (Mar. 8 – Apr. 19), surpassing the 14-match winning streak during the 2001-02 campaign.

Tusculum captured both the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament titles, while advancing to the NCAA II Tournament. It was TC’s second straight NCAA postseason appearance and sixth in the last seven years.

Senior Carlos Garcia (Caracas, Venezuela) earned numerous honors for the Pioneers posting an 18-2 singles record, including 7-0 in SAC matches. For his efforts, he was named the SAC Player of the Year and garnered SAC Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades. He ended his Tusculum career undefeated in conference singles matches, the first player in the program’s history to achieve that feat. He and No. 1 doubles partner Sergio Espinosa (Caracas, Venezuela) ended the season as the 10^th-ranked duo in the Southeast Region.

Armstrong Atlantic State is the top-ranked team in the country after claiming its first national title in school history, by defeating Barry 5-0. Barry is second, followed by Drury, Valdosta State, West Florida, Lynn, Francis Marion, Cameron, Ouachita Baptist and Hawaii Pacific. Concordia (N.Y.) is 11^th, followed by Florida Southern, Rollins, Lander, Georgia College & State, Anderson (S.C.), Columbus State, UC San Diego, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word to comprise the top half of the top 40.

Northwood is 21^st, followed by Augusta State, St. Edward’s, USC Aiken, Southwest Baptist, Washburn, Northwest Missouri State, BYU-Hawaii, Midwestern State, Delta State, North Alabama, Hawaii-Hilo, Sonoma State, Tusculum, Limestone, Mount Olive, Flagler, East Central, West Virginia Wesleyan, Mars Hill and Palm Beach Atlantic.

The Pioneers also finished fifth in the ITA Southeast Region rankings. National runner-up Barry was the top team in the region, followed by Lynn, Florida Southern, Rollins, Tusculum and Flagler. Mars Hill and Palm Beach Atlantic are tied for seventh, while Newberry and Florida Tech tied for ninth.

- TC -

ITA Division II Men’s Tennis National Rankings (Final)
Rk.	Team	Prv.
1	Armstrong Atlantic State	1
2	Barry	5
3	Drury	4
4	Valdosta State	2
5	West Florida	3
6	Lynn	6
7	Francis Marion	20
8	Cameron	7
9	Ouachita Baptist	8
10	Hawaii Pacific	9
11	Concordia (N.Y.)	12
12	Florida Southern	10
13	Rollins	11
14	Lander	13
15	Georgia College & State	14
16	Anderson (S.C.)	16
17	Columbus State	19
18	UC San Diego	18
19	Abilene Christian	21
20	Incarnate Word	15
21	Northwood	17
22	Augusta State	23
23	St. Edward’s	22
24	USC Aiken	25
25	Southwest Baptist	24
26	Washburn	27
27	Northwest Missouri	26
28	BYU-Hawaii	28
29	Midwestern State	29
30	Delta State	31
31	North Alabama	30
32	Hawaii-Hilo	32
33	Sonoma State	33
34	TUSCULUM	34
35	Limestone	35
36	Mount Olive	36
37	Flagler	37
38	East Central	NR
39	West Virginia Wesleyan	38
40	Mars Hill	T39
	Palm Beach Atlantic	T39
ITA Southeast Region Rankings (Final)
Rk.	Team	Prv.
1	Barry	1
2	Lynn	2
3	Florida Southern	3
4	Rollins	4
5	TUSCULUM	5
6	Flagler	6
7	Mars Hill	T7
	Palm Beach Atlantic	T7
9	Newberry	T9
	Florida Tech	T9
Tusculum Opponents in Italics