01/06/2009 - Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C—The Duke University women’s tennis team will kick off the 2009 season ranked ninth in the first national poll of the year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Four Blue Devils earned spots among the top 56 singles players, while one doubles pair comes in at No. 20.

Northwestern University tops the poll with 17 first-place votes, while California was second. Duke also earned one first-place nod in the poll. The Blue Devils finished the 2008 season with a 20-5 overall record and ranked 21st after advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Headlining the singles rankings for Duke is junior Tara Iyer in the No. 18 spot. Playing in the top spot for much of 2008, Iyer finished with an 11-12 record overall and a 5-6 mark against ACC opponents. Iyer earned a No. 5 ranking in the Southeast Region poll. This past fall, she posted a 6-3 overall record, including a 5-3 mark against nationally-ranked foes.

Sophomore Ellah Nze is ranked 43rd, while junior Amanda Granson is in the 48th spot. Granson and senior Melissa Mang are ranked 20th in the doubles poll. Sophomore Reka Zsilinszka rounds out the Blue Devils at No. 56. Nze and Zsilinszka both return after stellar rookie seasons. Nze posted a 30-10 overall record, playing primarily in the No. 2 spot. She went 9-2 against ACC competition and earned a spot in the NCAA Individual Tournament, falling in the first round. Nze posted a 7-3 mark this past fall and is ranked 13th in the Southeast Region.

Zsilinszka hits the court after earning All-America honors as a rookie with a 40-6 record as the Blue Devils’ No. 3 player. Earning a berth in the NCAA Individual Championship and advanced to the round of 16. She lost just one match in ACC play to finish 10-1. This past fall, Zsilinszka finished 9-4 overall. In the region, the native of Fayetteville, N.C., was voted sixth overall.

Lining up in the fifth singles spot for Duke, Granson finished the 2007-08 season with a 24-11 overall record and an 8-3 mark in the ACC. She is coming off of an outstanding fall season, going 9-4 overall, including 7-1 against nationally-ranked opponents. Regionally, Granson earned the 14th ranking one behind Nze.

Granson and Mang were a dominant force in doubles in 2007-08, going 26-10 overall and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament round of eight to earn All-America recognition. The duo comes in at No. 3 in the regional rankings. 

Also earning regional rankings in doubles are the pair of Jessi Robinson and Iyer and the Nze and Zsilinszka tandem in the eighth and 12th positions, respectively.

The Blue Devils kick off the 2009 portion of their season on Jan. 17-19 at the Michigan Invitational.

-d-u-k-e-