COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson of Texas A&M set a school record with their No. 15 showing in the final Oracle ITA Division I Women's National Collegiate Doubles Rankings, released today by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The ranking narrowly betters the program's previous all-time high final ranking of No. 16 set by Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu in 2014.
Paalma, a freshman from Estonia, and Pierson, a sophomore from Princeton, N.J., also are No. 2 in the final ITA Texas Region doubles rankings. The duo finished 11-6 overall after falling in the NCAA Doubles Championship first round.
The junior tandem of Ines Deheza and Stefania Hristov, which went 3-0 in the team portion of the NCAA Championship and ended the season riding a four-match win streak, finished No. 37 in the final national doubles rankings and No. 5 in the region rankings. In addition, Deheza and Pierson finished No. 41 nationally and No. 6 in the region, although they played all but four of their matches together in the fall, winning the ITA Texas Regional doubles championship in October.
Pierson, the ITA Texas Region Player to Watch, also led the Aggies with a team-high No. 30 in the final national singles rankings as well as a No. 3 regional ranking. Sophomore Saska Gavrilovska, who earned All-America honors by reaching the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship, was second on the team with a No. 47 national showing and a No. 5 region ranking.
Sophomore Rutuja Bhosale rounds out A&M's ranked singles players, finishing at No. 70 in the national rankings and No. 9 in the region rankings.
As a team, Texas A&M notched its third consecutive and third all-time top-10 final national ranking as the Aggies finished No. 10. Texas A&M, which finished No. 2 in the region rankings, went 17-6, reaching the NCAA round of 16 before falling to defending national champion and eventual NCAA runner-up UCLA, 4-1.
Robin Anderson of UCLA finished No. 1 in the singles rankings, and Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen are No. 1 in the final doubles rankings for the second consecutive year.
For the complete final ITA national and region rankings, go to itatennis.com.
Texas A&M Final National Rankings:
Singles
30. Rachel Pierson
47. Saska Gavrilovska
70. Rutuja Bhosale
Doubles
15. Eva Paalma/Rachel Pierson
37. Ines Deheza/Stefania Hristov
41. Ines Deheza/Rachel Pierson
Final Texas Region Rankings:
Team
1. Baylor
2. Texas A&M
3. Texas Tech
4. TCU
5. Rice
6. Houston
7. Texas
8. North Texas
9. UT Arlington
10. North Texas
Singles
1. Ema Burgic Baylor
2. Natalie Beazant Rice
3. Rachel Pierson Texas A&M
4. Blaire Shankle Baylor
5. Saska Gavrilovska Texas A&M
6. Simona Parajova TCU
7. Despoina Vogasari Houston
8. Breaunna Addison Texas
9. Rutuja Bhosale Texas A&M
10. Kiah Generette Baylor
20. Stefania Hristov Texas A&M
Doubles
1. Burgic/Shankle Baylor
2. Paalma/Pierson Texas A&M
3. Arantekin/Tan TCU
4. Kilgo/Talaba Texas Tech
5. Deheza/Hristov Texas A&M
6. Deheza/Pierson Texas A&M
7. Anderson/Van Zyl Baylor
8. de los Rios/Thoms UTA
9. Ho/Hodge Rice
10. Addison/Wagland Texas
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.
Paalma, a freshman from Estonia, and Pierson, a sophomore from Princeton, N.J., also are No. 2 in the final ITA Texas Region doubles rankings. The duo finished 11-6 overall after falling in the NCAA Doubles Championship first round.
The junior tandem of Ines Deheza and Stefania Hristov, which went 3-0 in the team portion of the NCAA Championship and ended the season riding a four-match win streak, finished No. 37 in the final national doubles rankings and No. 5 in the region rankings. In addition, Deheza and Pierson finished No. 41 nationally and No. 6 in the region, although they played all but four of their matches together in the fall, winning the ITA Texas Regional doubles championship in October.
Pierson, the ITA Texas Region Player to Watch, also led the Aggies with a team-high No. 30 in the final national singles rankings as well as a No. 3 regional ranking. Sophomore Saska Gavrilovska, who earned All-America honors by reaching the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship, was second on the team with a No. 47 national showing and a No. 5 region ranking.
Sophomore Rutuja Bhosale rounds out A&M's ranked singles players, finishing at No. 70 in the national rankings and No. 9 in the region rankings.
As a team, Texas A&M notched its third consecutive and third all-time top-10 final national ranking as the Aggies finished No. 10. Texas A&M, which finished No. 2 in the region rankings, went 17-6, reaching the NCAA round of 16 before falling to defending national champion and eventual NCAA runner-up UCLA, 4-1.
Robin Anderson of UCLA finished No. 1 in the singles rankings, and Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen are No. 1 in the final doubles rankings for the second consecutive year.
For the complete final ITA national and region rankings, go to itatennis.com.
Texas A&M Final National Rankings:
Singles
30. Rachel Pierson
47. Saska Gavrilovska
70. Rutuja Bhosale
Doubles
15. Eva Paalma/Rachel Pierson
37. Ines Deheza/Stefania Hristov
41. Ines Deheza/Rachel Pierson
Final Texas Region Rankings:
Team
1. Baylor
2. Texas A&M
3. Texas Tech
4. TCU
5. Rice
6. Houston
7. Texas
8. North Texas
9. UT Arlington
10. North Texas
Singles
1. Ema Burgic Baylor
2. Natalie Beazant Rice
3. Rachel Pierson Texas A&M
4. Blaire Shankle Baylor
5. Saska Gavrilovska Texas A&M
6. Simona Parajova TCU
7. Despoina Vogasari Houston
8. Breaunna Addison Texas
9. Rutuja Bhosale Texas A&M
10. Kiah Generette Baylor
20. Stefania Hristov Texas A&M
Doubles
1. Burgic/Shankle Baylor
2. Paalma/Pierson Texas A&M
3. Arantekin/Tan TCU
4. Kilgo/Talaba Texas Tech
5. Deheza/Hristov Texas A&M
6. Deheza/Pierson Texas A&M
7. Anderson/Van Zyl Baylor
8. de los Rios/Thoms UTA
9. Ho/Hodge Rice
10. Addison/Wagland Texas
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.