ITA Announces Preseason Rankings - Doubles Team Ranks No. 1 Nationally
9/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's tennis team is well-represented in the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings with the two teams making the doubles list, including the No. 1 overall tandem, and five individuals ranking in the top-115 slots.
In doubles, returning 2013 NCAA Champions Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen rank first overall while the team of seniors Emily Zabor and Luicelena Perez comes in at 15th overall. Routliffe is the highest-ranked singles player for the Tide, coming in at 45th, with her partner Jansen ranking 84th. Other players earning individual honors include sophomore Danielle Spielmann (52nd), senior Perez (90th) and junior Natalia Maynetto (115th).
Routliffe and Jansen combined to earn the Alabama tennis program its first national title in 2013. The tandem, who entered NCAA's as the No. 4 seed, dropped a combined 13 points throughout their championship match en route to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Georgia's Lauren Herring and Maho Kowase. They also earned ITA Women's Doubles Team of the Year honors. Zabor and Perez won a combined 43 doubles matches throughout the 2013 season, and reached a high of 35th as a team.
In 2013, Routliffe was named an ITA All-American in doubles and co-freshman of the year in the Southeastern Conference in addition to earning first team accolades in the league. She led the Crimson Tide in both singles and doubles wins with 29 and 31, respectively.
Jansen partnered with Routliffe to earn ITA Doubles All-America honors and the title of women's doubles team of the year. Jansen was also a second team All-SEC selection, winning 19 singles matches, all in the spring, while adding another 25 victories in doubles, streaking to 10 consecutive doubles victories to close out the 2013 season.
As a junior, Zabor won her second straight NCAA Elite 89 Award, becoming the first repeat winner in women's tennis. She was also the ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award winner for the southern region. Zabor earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team and her 25 singles match victories ranked second on the 2013 squad.
Perez earned SEC Player of the Week honors twice (March 26, April 14) after a pair of key wins against Florida and Georgia. In her first season with the Tide she went 15-1 in singles overall, including a 12-0 mark in dual matches. She earned second team All-SEC honors and was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
Spielmann collected 21 singles wins and added another 29 doubles victories to her tally as a freshman. She played primarily in the No. 2 singles position in 2013 and also competed in the No. 2 doubles position. At season's end she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
In her sophomore campaign, Maynetto won 14 of her 17 singles matches, including a 3-0 mark against SEC competition. Working primarily out of the No. 6 position, she ended the 2013 season on a four-match win streak.
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Players Mentioned
