Sept. 9, 2008

C-USA Preseason ITA Rankings

IRVING, Texas –
Twelve Conference USA student-athletes received Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national preseason rankings as announced by the governing body of collegiate tennis. Three-time C-USA Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, Tulsa’s Arnau Brugues, claims the highest overall ranking, coming in at No. 6, while Rice’s Bruno Rosa is ranked No. 14. For the women, Marshall’s Kellie Schmitt is the highest ranked singles player at No. 42. Schmitt was named Women’s C-USA Tennis Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

Following Brugues and Rosa in the men’s rankings is Christoph Müller of Rice at No. 35. Victor Kilok of Tulsa and Robin Fahgen of SMU are next at Nos. 59 and 62, respectively, to round out the ranked men’s singles. C-USA has three ranked men’s doubles teams, led by TU’s Ross Cunningham and Kolik at No. 21. Rice’s Müller and Rosa are ranked No. 25, while teammates Phil Stevens and Brugues follow at No. 44.

In addition to Schmitt, Tulsa’s Alexandra Kichoutkin and SMU’s Natalia Bubien also appear in the initial rankings. Kichoutkin, the reigning C-USA Freshman of the Year, appears at No. 82, while Bubien, a two-time All-C-USA first team performer, is ranked No. 88. In doubles, C-USA features two ranked tandems. Marshall’s duo of Karolina Soor and Schmitt are the top ranked team at No. 14, while SMU’s Kseniia Tokarieva and Bubien are ranked No. 28.

The ITA will release team, individual and doubles regional rankings later this fall.

Fall C-USA men’s and women’s tennis action begins this weekend and will be highlighted by the league’s 37 automatic and alternate selections to the men’s and women’s ITA All-American Championships in late September.

C-USA men’s and women’s team tennis action will begin this spring and the regular season will conclude at the 14th annual C-USA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. The women’s event will be in Houston, Texas, hosted by Rice University from April 16-19, while the men’s event will take place in Orlando, Fla., on the campus of UCF from April 17-19.