Complete ITA Southwest Region Rankings
DENTON, Texas (5/29/09) - Following one of the best seasons in program history, the North Texas tennis team received its highest-ever final ranking at No. 8 in the ITA Southwest Region on Friday. Irina Paraschiv and Madura Ranganathan also earned singles and doubles rankings.
"This certainly is encouraging and exciting for our program," said head coach Sujay Lama. "Each year we continue to rise in the rankings and earn respect regionally and nationally. We hope to improve even more next year and finish in the top five for our region."
The Mean Green finished ahead of other Texas schools such as Houston (No. 9) and Rice (No. 10). North Texas won 5-2 at Rice this past season.
Reflecting on the achievements in '08-09, head coach Sujay Lama was honored by the Greater Denton Sports Commission as the University of North Texas Coach of the Year and was named a finalist for the prestigious Giant Steps Award. The squad reached its highest win total (17) since 1984-85 and recorded the second best all-time winning percentage for a season (.739). The team rode a 10-match win streak into the conference semifinals before falling to No.1 seeded Denver in 4 hour 45 min match. The Mean Green picked up victories along the way against UTEP, New Mexico State, Central Florida, Rice, and Troy.
North Texas has made significant strides the last couple of years posting a 13-9 record and a No. 13 final regional ranking in 2007-08 after a 2-19 mark in '06-07.
Also ranked by the ITA in the southwest region on Friday were freshman Irina Paraschiv and sophomore Madura Ranganathan.
Paraschiv earned a No. 20 singles ranking while she and Madura Ranganathan received a No. 13 ranking in doubles.
Paraschiv finished ahead of several players in singles including Texas Tech's Kelsey Garland, Texas A&M's Christie Liles, Rice's Julie Chao, TCU's Kateriina Tuohimaa, and Sarah Lancaster of Texas. Paraschiv completed the year with a 14-6 record going 10-6 from the No. 1 position. At the SBC Tournament, Paraschiv defeated Troy's Rawia Elsisi 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and battled the nation's No. 59 player, Mallory Voelker, in three sets before falling 4-6, 6-3, 2-6. During the regular season, Irina defeated Rice’s Julie Chao, Louisville’s Lindsey Jones, UCF’s Jenny Frisell, and UTSA’s Karen Scida. Paraschiv won Sun Belt Player of the Week back on February 25 and received a preseason ranking of No. 14 in the region.
In doubles, Irina Paraschiv and Madura Ranganathan played as the No. 1 team for most of the year tallying a 6-4 record. The pairing defeated teams from Stephen F. Austin, Midwestern State, UT-San Antonio, and Texas State. They also grabbed two wins against Sun Belt opponents, New Orleans and Middle Tennessee. Paraschiv and Ranganathan began the season as the eighth-ranked doubles team in the region.
