FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas' loss to Northwestern proved to be a significant blow in the team rankings when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association released the latest poll. The Razorbacks (3-1), were previously ranked No. 28 but a loss to the No. 47 Northwestern Wildcats resulted in the slide.
The Razorbacks fell to No. 32 and are now the lowest ranked team in the SEC. The biggest surprise came as the University of Georgia fell from No. 6 to No. 20 after a loss to then unranked Clemson. All of the SEC schools appeared in the rankings with Florida keeping steady at No. 5. The rest of the SEC was in this order, No. 6 Mississippi, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 Auburn, No. 16 Alabama, No. 22 South Carolina, No. 25 Mississippi State, No. 27 Vanderbilt and No. 29 Louisiana State.
Head Coach Robert Cox was pleased with his team's ranking and impressed at the overall poll.
"These rankings reflect the respect for our program from last year," Cox said. "They are very accurate and become more so as the year progresses. Rankings are based on wins and not losses. That's why I'm pleased to be where we are. Our expectations are much higher, of course. Our goal is to be a top-20 team. The last few years have been a steady upward climb and I still feel that our team has that potential."
ITA Team Rankings - Jan. 29, 2003
1. UCLA 2. Illinois 3. Baylor 4. Stanford 5. Florida 6. Mississippi 7. Southern California 8. Kentucky 9. California 10. Duke 11. Texas 12. Texas A&M 13. Tennessee 14. Auburn 15. Virginia Commonwealth 16. Alabama 17. Pepperdine 18. Minnesota 19. Washington 20. Georgia 21. South Florida 22. South Carolina 23. Wake Forest 24. Ohio State 25. Mississippi State 26. North Carolina 27. Vanderbilt 28. San Diego State 29. Louisiana State 30. Harvard 31. SMU 32. Arkansas 33. Clemson 34. Notre Dame 35. TCU 36. Rice 37. Louisville 38. Virginia Tech 39. Northwestern 40. Tulane 41. Arizona State 42. Miami (Fla.) 43. South Alabama 44. Purdue 45. Indiana 46. Western Michigan 47. Georgia Tech 48. San Diego 49. Tulsa 50. Florida State
