November 19, 2009

Tiger tennis teams receive strong national rankings

Returning several talented players, the Cowley College men and women’s tennis teams are each ranked in the top-10 of the initial Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.

The Tiger men are ranked fifth and the women are ranked sixth. The rankings are based off of returning players and how teams fared during their fall schedules.

The Cowley men, which placed ninth at last year’s national tournament, return five sophomores and have added some talented freshmen to the mix.

“They have done a good job,” Cowley head coach Josh Cobble said. “We hope to continue that in the spring and earn an even better ranking.”

Cowley will be led by sophomore Lloyd Bruce-Burgess, who placed seventh at last month’s ITA National Small College Championships held in Mobile, AL.

The Lady Tiger tennis team returns each of its singles and doubles players, while adding freshmen Brittney Berryman and Kalena Pate to the squad.

“This ranking shows the strength of the returning players and what they will bring to the table,” Cobble said.

Sophomore Adrijana Pavlovic led the team in the fall by placing third at the ITA National Small College Championships.

Even though the Lady Tigers won last year’s Region VI title and placed eighth at the national tournament, Cobble expects even bigger things from this year’s team.

“We want to show we have gotten better from last year,” Cobble said.