Division III Men's National Rankings | Division III Men's Northeast RankingsThe New York University men's tennis team moved up in the latest Division III Men's National and Northeast Regional Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, which were released on Thursday, March 28. The Violets are now ranked #23 nationally, #5 regionally and also have a pair of regionally-ranked tennis players.
After beginning the Spring season a perfect 3-0, including a pair of 5-4 victories over
then-#25 Skidmore College and
regionally-ranked Brandeis University, the Violets find themselves in the national rankings for the third straight time.
After starting the season unranked nationally and #14 regionally, NYU is now ranked #23 in the nation and #5 in the Northeast.
The Violets are now one of seven University Athletic Association (UAA) squads ranked among the top-30 teams nationally. Washington University-St. Louis is the top-ranked Association squad, coming in at #2, followed closely by #7 Emory University. Case Western Reserve University is right behind the Eagles ay #8, followed by 11th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University. The Violets are ranked ahead of the #24 Judges and #30 University of Chicago.
"The team remains focused," said NYU Head Coach
Horace Choy. "We know that we have a tough stretch ahead of us with Stevens, Rochester and other UAA teams coming up. The UAA Championship will be our biggest test, as seven of eight teams are ranked nationally."
Individually, senior captain
Steven Wu has continued to climb in the rankings. The Hillsborough, NJ, native finished the fall season as the runner-up at the Northeast ITA Regional Championships. Since then, he has won three straight singles matches, including avenging his Championship loss to Skidmore's Oliver Loutsenko by defeating him in straight sets earlier this spring when Loutsenko was ranked #1 in the Northeast. Now with a 3-0 spring record and a 10-1 overall mark, Wu is now ranked #2 in the Northeast.
"I'm happy that Steve is getting the recognition that he deserves," Choy said. "He has worked hard the past four years and I know he is happier for the team's success than he is for his own."
In addition, Wu and junior teammate
Aaron Meltzer have put together a 2-1 record as the Violets' top-ranked doubles pair. The duo's early-season record is highlighted by an 8-5 victory over Michael Arguello and Danny Lubarsky (#10 in the Northeast) during NYU's win over Brandeis. The Violets' first -doubles team is now ranked #9 in the Northeast.
NYU will be back in action on Wednesday, April 2, when the Violets travel across the Hudson River to face Stevens Institute of Technology. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 pm in Hoboken, NJ.
