April 25, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released on Tuesday, the University of Memphis women's tennis team jumped to No. 55 in the country. Courtney Collins, Tiffany Mikesz and Mariya Slupska are ranked in singles and Tiffany Welcher and Alyssa Hibberd appear in the doubles rankings.

In the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship last week, Memphis defeated No. 5 seed Marshall before falling to No. 1 seed and 23rd-ranked Tulsa in the semifinals. The Tigers' performance helped them move from No. 64 in the previous ITA rankings to No. 55 in the current poll.

Junior Courtney Collins leads a trio of Tigers ranked in singles play, checking in at No. 34 in the poll. Mikesz and Slupska join Collins in the rankings at Nos. 90 and 92, respectively.

Welcher and Hibberd comprise the lone doubles tandem in the rankings for the Tigers. The duo is the 64th-ranked doubles team.

The ITA is set to release one more ranking on April 30 before selections are made for the NCAA Tournament, which is comprised of team, singles and doubles championships. Both the team and singles championships consist of 64 participants, while only 32 participants are included in the doubles tournament. Selection of the 64 teams will occur on May 1 and the doubles and singles brackets will be released on May 2.

Check GoTigersGo.com for information regarding the women's tennis team and all Tigers athletics.