Spartans Finish Season 70th In ITA Rankings
5/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 28, 2009
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - For the eighth time in the last nine years and the first time in the Division I era, the USC Upstate men's tennis team has a postseason ranking, with the team finishing the year 70th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, which came out on May 22 following the conclusion of the 2009 NCAA Championships.
The Spartans finished 22-3 overall and with a 9-1 A-Sun record, good for second in the league. Upstate won a school-record 20 matches during the season and won a school-record four A-Sun Player of the Week awards in the campaign.
The Spartans rose as high as 65th in the rankings at the height of their 20-match win streak on April 7, which included a win over UNC Wilmington, which finished the year at No. 59. In all, the team held a ranking for seven of the final nine weeks of the season.
A Division II powerhouse, the Spartans held national rankings in each of their last seven years in the classification, beginning with a final ranking of 22nd in 2002 to a ranking of fifth in 2007. During that seven year run, the Spartans finished in the top 10 in Division II twice and also added three more finishes within the top 12.
The Spartans also tied an Atlantic Sun Conference record with six individuals earning selections to the all-conference teams, tying the mark set by Samford in 1991 (all first-team honorees) and the Arkansas Little Rock in 1985 (when the all-conference selections were based on flight winners at the conference championships). The six selections shattered the school's previous-best of three individuals earning All-Peach Belt Conference honors set in 2007.
Freshman Ramiro Blanco, who was also a member of the A-Sun All-Freshman Team, helped lead the team all season, wrapping up a magical season at No. 5 singles by posting a perfect 23-0 record, the first perfect season in school history. With a 16-0 record at No. 5 singles, Blanco earned a national ranking despite never playing a match beyond No. 3 in the lineup, holding strong at No. 122 in the latest Campbell's/ITA rankings. He dropped just four sets during the season en route to perfection. The final ITA individual rankings will be released on Friday.
The Spartans are also in good position to continue their upward swing onto the landscape of Division I tennis, as the team will return five starters from the 2009 team in 2010, losing only the team's No. 6 player, Leandro Osorio, to graduation.
