Yale to Begin Season Ranked No. 50

Hanna Yu (photo by Alexandra Schmeling)
January 21, 2015

Yu Enters Senior Spring at No. 96 in the Nation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its first set of rankings for the 2015 regular season on Jan. 6, with the Yale women’s tennis team notching a national ranking of No. 50 ahead of the start of competitive play.  In addition, senior captain Hanna Yu slots in at No. 96 in the country in singles.

The Bulldogs will head into the new season ranked almost exactly where they were at the conclusion of the 2014 regular season.  Yale places third among Ivy League teams, ranked only behind Princeton (No. 36) and Columbia (No. 40).  Yale ranks two spots above perennial rival Harvard (No. 52). 

The ranking announcement comes on the heels of a fall stretch that saw several strong individual performances from members of the Yale team.  The squad’s freshmen were particularly impressive in proving more than up to the challenge of collegiate tennis.  Regular season matches consist primarily of one-on-one matchups with opposing teams, so the Bulldogs’ individual performances will need to coalesce into a forceful collective effort once competition begins in two weeks’ time.  Yale will aim to work its way up the rankings in anticipation of the Ivy League stretch in April.

Yu’s superb fall season earned her an initial national ranking of No. 96, which places her seven spots above her 2014-15 preseason ranking of No. 103.  She went undefeated at the Bulldog Invitational and the Wildcat Invitational, and the high mark of her fall season was a standout showing at the 2014 Northeast Regionals, where she advanced to the singles final and played alongside junior Ree Ree Li to reach the doubles final.  Yu also participated in singles pre-qualifying at the prestigious All-American Championships.  She will look to lead her teammates to reclaiming the Ivy League title.  After winning the championship for three consecutive seasons, the Bulldogs finished in second place last year.

Report by Robert Batista ‘15, Yale Sports Publicity

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