Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Ranked No. 54 in ITA Preseason Rankings
1/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Josh Mitchell
jomitchell@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its first national rankings on Tuesday and the Fresno State women's tennis team came in at No. 54. The Bulldogs moved up four spots from last year's final ranking which had them at No. 58.
Fresno State was one of four teams, and the highest ranked team, in the ITA's Top 75. The 'Dogs were followed by New Mexico (No. 63), San Jose State (No. 72) and Wyoming (No. 74).
Maiar Sherif Ahmed was the lone Bulldog ranked nationally in singles. After a stellar fall season that saw her qualify for indoor nationals with an at-large bid, the sophomore came in at No. 26, up more than 70 spots from the fall when she was ranked No. 104. She was one of four players in the Mountain West ranked in the top 115.
In doubles, seniors Anneka Watts and Sophie Watts were listed at No. 58. The twins were unranked at the end of the 2014-15 season. They are the only doubles team in the conference to earn a preseason ranking.
"It is a great thing to be honored in the preseason as we know you have to be quite impressive in the fall to move up any spots so moving up a few is a great thing as a team," Fresno State head women's tennis coach Ryan Stotland said. "To have a ranking in all three; team, singles, and doubles again this year is quite a feat. We know we have the talent to move up in everything and we look forward to being the best team we can be and seeing what number we can reach. We know each day we have to use those to get better and that will improve our rankings throughout the season."
In the Northwest Region, Ahmed ranked fourth in singles behind Cal's Megan Manasse and Klara Fabikova, and Stanford's Taylor Davidson. In doubles, the Watts sisters were No. 4 behind behind a pair of teams from Cal and one from Stanford. Also in the region's top 10 was Ahmed and her older sister Rana Sherif Ahmed who came in at No. 7.
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