Nation’s best prepare for long season

Chelsey Gullickson
Georgia
Senior

Key Notes:
• 2010 NCAA singles champion
• Three-time ITA All-American in singles and doubles
• Enters year second in ITA singles and 15th in doubles

Mallory Burdette
Stanford
Junior

Key Notes:
• Currently top-ranked ITA singles and doubles player
• 2011 doubles champion, earning All-America honors
• 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year

Allie Will
Florida
Junior

Key Notes:
• 2011 SEC Player of the Year
• Currently third in ITA singles rankings and 10th in doubles
• In 2011, reached round of 16 in singles, quarterfinals in doubles

Jana Juricova
California
Senior

Key Notes:
• 2011 NCAA singles champion
• Named 2011 ITA National Player of the Year 
• Opened 2012 season fifth in ITA singles rankings

Barbora Kritickova
Armstrong Atlantic State
Sophomore

Key Notes:
• 2011 ITA All-American in singles and doubles
• Named 2011 ITA National Rookie of the Year
• Currently ranked second in ITA singles and doubles rankings

Julia Mongin
Abilene Christian
Junior

Key Notes: 
• 2011 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year
• Earned 2011 ITA All-America honors
• Currently ranked third in ITA singles rankings and 24th in doubles

Ioana Ivan
Lynn
Sophomore

Key Notes:
• Currently fifth in ITA singles and doubles rankings
• Helped Lynn reach 2011 title match
• Reached semifinals of Small College Championships

Mona Monsour
Barry
Sophomore

Key Notes:
• Led Barry to program’s first national championship in 2011
• Finished 2011 spring season with 17-1 record
• Currently ranked eighth nationally in singles and 11th in doubles

Gabrielle Clark
Emory
Sophomore

Key Notes:
• Named 2011 Division III  Rookie of the Year
• Finished 2011 ranked second nationally in singles and doubles
• 2011 league MVP and rookie of the year

Nancy Worley
Williams
Senior

Key Notes:
• Came from behind in championship’s deciding match to earn Williams’ fourth consecutive team title
• Currently ranked second in ITA northeast region

Leah Kepping
Middlebury
Senior

Key Notes:
• Named 2011 All-American
• Currently ranked third in ITA northeast region
• Earned first-team All-NESCAC honors as junior in 2011

Kristin Lim
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Sophomore

Key Notes:
• Won 2011 NCAA singles title
• Did not lose a set in 2011 NCAA tournament
• Transferred from Cornell following freshman year

Florida Gators

Noting Florida: The defending national champs return all seven players who participated in the 2011 championship match. The Gators debuted as the top-ranked team in the nation in pursuit of their sixth national title. Junior Allie Will leads the returning Gators. Will, ranked third, and Joanna Mather, ranked fourth, are two of five Gators featured in the ITA top 45. Florida finished the 2010-11 season with a 31-1 record in dual matches.

Stanford Cardinal

Noting Stanford: Last year’s national runner-up begins this season where it left off —  in second place behind Florida. Senior Mallory Burdette is ranked No. 1 in the ITA singles ranking and first in doubles alongside teammate Nicole Gibbs. The Cardinal have won a record 16 national titles and have a good shot at number 17 with four All-Americans returning in addition to prized freshman Ellen Tsay.

Duke Blue Devils

Noting Duke: The third-ranked Blue Devils are one of the youngest teams in the nation. Duke’s highest ranked player is freshman Beatrice Capra — the Blue Devils’ prized recruit. Monica Turewicz rounds out Duke’s high-powered freshman class. The Blue Devils were ousted in last year’s national quarterfinals, but hope their young guns — the squad has only one senior — will lead the Devils in their pursuit of a second national championship.

Lynn Fighting Knights

Noting Lynn: The Fighting Knights return four players from last year’s national runner-up, including fifth-ranked Ioana Ivan. Lynn opens the season as the preseason favorite according to the ITA ranking, but head coach Mike Perez says, “the rankings in May are what really count.” Lynn has reached the championship match three of the last four years, but fell each time. The Fighting Knights lost four key members from last year’s squad, but several returning players — including Ivan and doubles partner Sabine Krause — look to get the Knights over the hump to their first national title since 2001.

BYU-Hawaii Seasiders

Noting BYU-Hawaii: The Seasiders entered last year’s NCAA tournament as the top-seeded team, but fell to Lynn in the national semifinals. Despite losing phenom Elwen Li Boud, BYU-Hawaii returns ITA  preseason No. 1 Annie Hwang, fourth-ranked Sherry Liu and seventh-ranked Yuan Jia. Hwang already captured the 2011 USTA/ITA Small College Tournament in singles and also won the doubles event alongside  Liu. The Seasiders open the season ranked second and are in search for their eighth national championship.

Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates

Noting Armstrong Atlantic: After having its streak of three consecutive national titles snapped in 2011, Armstrong Atlantic looks to return to the top. The Pirates begin the season ranked third in the preseason ranking, returning sophomore Barbora Krtickova (No. 2) and sophomore Aleksandra Filipovski. The Pirates have six singles players ranked in the ITA top 50 and three doubles team in the top 25. 

Williams Ephs

Noting Williams:  In Alison Swainhe’s first four seasons as a collegiate coach, she has won a record four consecutive national championships. This year, Swainhe begins her fifth season as the coach of the top-ranked team in the nation. Williams returns many of its best players, including Nancy Worley, but also brings in a solid group of newcomers. Freshmen Rebecca Curran, Monica Pastor and Maria Pylypiv combined for a 32-6 singles record in the fall and look to continue the Ephs’ dynasty.

Amherst Lord Jeffs

Noting Central: The biggest threat to end Williams’ streak may be its rival Amherst. The second-ranked Lord Jeffs already suffered a defeat to the Ephs in the fall season, but didn’t play their top athletes. Amherst’s Laura Danzig and Jordan Brewer, who already won the doubles bracket of the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament in October remain two of the Lord Jeffs’ biggest threats.

Emory Eagles

Noting Emory: Before Williams won four championships in a row, Emory had won four consecutive. The Eagles look to dethrone the Ephs this year and may have the team to get back on top for the first time since 2006. Emory has one of the youngest teams in the nation, returning four sophomores including All-American Gabrielle Clark. The Eagles also brought in a strong recruiting class of four freshman who could make an immediate impact.

March 12 — Armstrong Atlantic at Hawaii Pacific (Division II) 

March 14 — Duke at Florida (Division I) 

March 24 – Barry at Lynn (Division II)

March 25 — North Carolina at Virginia (Division I)

April 14 — UCLA at Stanford (Division I)

April 14 – Emory at Amherst (Division III)

April 14 — Carnegie Mellon at Denison (Division III)

April 21 – Tufts at Williams (Division III)