Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Tennis Ranked Ninth by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
1/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 21, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern women's tennis team finds itself in the same spot it ended last year, ranked No. 9 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The defending three-time Big Ten champions sit behind Stanford, Florida, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Tennessee, Southern California and Arizona State.
Several Wildcat players also received individual rankings. Junior Marine Piriou is ranked ninth in singles after finishing the fall season with a 12-3 record. Piriou holds a career record of 80-15 including a perfect 12-0 mark in Big Ten play last season. Her victories this season include a win over senior teammate Lia Jackson to capture the Omni Region IV title. She also had an amazing run at the ITA National Indoors. Unranked and unseeded, Piriou defeated three ranked players to land in the semifinals.
Jackson, a returning All-Big Ten athlete and 2001 NCAA Singles Tournament Qualifier, sits at No. 55 in the rankings. Sophomore Jessica Rush is nationally ranked for the first time in her career at No. 95. Rush went 12-0 last year in Big Ten play. Jackson and Piriou also hold the No. 31 ranking as a doubles team.
The 'Cats have five players ranked in the top 25 in the Midwest Region. Piriou and Jackson sit atop the rankings at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, while Rush is at No. 6. Simona Petruitiu is ranked No. 16 and Andrea Yung is 21st. The doubles team of Jackson and Piriou are No. 4 in the region.
