Furman's Gioia Ranked No. 72
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Furman senior women’s tennis player Laura Gioia has earned a national preseason ranking, the ITA announced this week.
Gioia is ranked 72nd in the preseason singles poll released by the ITA this week. Gioia finished the 2007-08 season ranked 99th in the nation.
The women’s tennis team begins play this weekend at the Landfall Invitational in Wilmington, N.C. The Paladins will host the annual Furman Fall Classic on September 26-28.
UNCG's Guerra Ranked No. 114
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro senior Alejandra Guerra is ranked No. 114 among 125 players in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national preseason singles rankings, released this week.
Guerra, a native of Tampico, Mexico, is riding a 17-match winning streak from last season as play begins in the Fall Tournament portion of the schedule. The 2008 Southern Conference Player of the Year in women’s tennis is the first Spartan to earn a women’s tennis preseason ranking since the program went to the Division I level in 1991.
Guerra finished last season 27-5 overall, including 18-2 in the spring season. A perfect 9-0 against SoCon opponents last year, she hasn’t lost a set in that 17-match winning streak and hasn’t been forced to a tiebreaker in the last 33 sets. One of her two losses last spring came to Katrina Tsang of North Carolina, who is ranked No. 23 in the preseason rankings.
Her last loss came at the hands of Virginia Tech’s Yasmin Hamza back on February 16 in a third-set 10-point tiebreaker. Hamza is ranked No. 110 in the preseason Top 125.
Furman’s Laura Gioia is the only other SoCon player in the rankings, coming in at No. 72 to start the year. Guerra topped Gioia 6-2, 6-4 on March 29 last season.
While UNCG is opening play this weekend at the Landfall Invitational, Guerra will begin her season next weekend when UNCG plays at the UVA Fall Invitational.