Information courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
ITA Final Midwest Region Rankings
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Illinois
No. 3 Michigan State
No. 4 Notre Dame
No. 5 Wisconsin
No. 6 Michigan
No. 7 Northwestern
No. 8 Northern Illinois
No. 9 Western Michigan
No. 10 DePaul
#8 Northern Illinois Huskies
DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's tennis team finished in the final ITA Division I Regional Team rankings at No. 8 in the Midwest Region, the organization announced today. All seven teams ranked ahead of NIU were ranked in the national top 75 and the Huskies were slotted just ahead of Western Michigan and DePaul.
"The guys deserve all the credit for such a great accomplishment," said head coach René Vidal. "They beat the skeptics and performed at a high level when it mattered most. Now, our sights are set on making waves at the national level."
In addition to the Huskies receiving team recognition, NIU was spotlighted in the singles rankings with
Iker Gaztambide Arrastia coming in at No. 14. The outgoing senior is the only player in the top 20 that isn't in the Big Ten or Atlantic Coast Conference.
The top six finishers in the Midwest Region each made the NCAA Tournament with all six in the latest top 50 rankings and three in the top 20. NIU played three teams in the final Midwest Region rankings in No. Illinois (No. 14 national), No. 5 Wisconsin (No. 34 national) and No. 9 Western Michigan.
The Huskies defeated Western Michigan twice this season, including downing the Broncos in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. NIU came in at the No. 8 ranking with a 13.7 WTN.
The top 10 ranking puts a bow on a standout season for NIU that saw 18 wins, a conference championship appearance, conference player of the year and 10 player of the week honors.
#9 Western Michigan Broncos
Information coming soon...
ITA Final New England Region Rankings
No. 1 Cornell
No. 2 Yale
No. 3 Harvard
No. 4 Dartmouth
No. 5 Buffalo
No. 6 Brown
No. 7 Army West Point
No. 8 Marist
No. 9 Quinnipiac
No. 10 Binghamton
#5 Buffalo Bulls
BUFFALO, NY – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its final Division I Regional rankings, with the University at Buffalo men's tennis team finishing fifth in the New England region.
UB also finished last season ranked at No. 5, giving the Bulls back-to-back seasons finishing in the top 10 of the Midwest Region. The New England Region produced three NCAA Tournament teams this season and three teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest ITA rankings.
Buffalo is the highest-ranked member of the Mid-American Conference and joins Western Michigan (Midwest) and Northern Illinois (Midwest) as teams from the MAC to be recognized in the end-of-season rankings.
The Bulls played seven teams that finished in the top 10 of their region this season, including No. 1 Ohio State (Midwest) and No. 2 Princeton (Northeast). No. 3 Harvard (New England), No. 6 Brown (New England), No. 8 Northern Illinois (Midwest), No. 9 Western Michigan (Midwest), and No. 10 Binghamton (New England).
Buffalo is on a historic run as a program, winning both the regular season and tournament titles in back-to-back seasons while also notching 15+ wins in two straight years. The Bulls also had four players earn All-MAC honors and
Lee Nickellwas named MAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his UB tenure. Off the court, the Bulls had another successful academic year as they saw multiple student-athletes earn Academic All-MAC and Academic All-District honors.
