June 7, 2010

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee women's tennis players Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota made school history by becoming the first Lady Vols in the NCAA era to rank atop the final Campbell/ITA poll, which was released Monday afternoon.

For the year, Whoriskey, a senior, and Pluskota, a sophomore, went 26-3, including a 14-3 mark against ranked opponents. They reached the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championships before dropping a hard-fought contest to Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette of Stanford.

This marks the second consecutive season that Whoriskey and Pluskota have taken home All-America honors in doubles.

Two other Lady Vol doubles tandems ranked among the best in the nation: Whoriskey and junior Maria Sorbello came in at No. 13, while junior Rosalía Alda and senior Zsófia Zubor captured the No. 31 spot.

Playing from the No. 2 doubles position, Alda and Zubor went 29-10, including an 18-7 mark in dual match play.

Whoriskey also earned All-America distinction in singles for the first time in her career, ranking No. 10 in the country. Though she had already locked it up based on her regular season ranking, she advanced to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championships, earning her automatic All-America status.

She closes out her Tennessee career with three All-America selections, tying her with Vilmarie Castellvi, Paula Kelly and Peta Kelly for the second-most in school history. Margie Lepsi and Manisha Malhotra each earned four All-America awards in their careers at Tennessee.

Sorbello finished the season ranked No. 53 in the nation in singles and No. 4 in the Ohio Valley Region. She was also named the ITA Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch for next season after posting a 23-15 record from the No. 2 singles spot this year.

Meanwhile, Alda finished No. 6 in the Ohio Valley Region. Her 23 singles wins were a career high, tying her with Sorbello for third on the team.

As a team, the Big Orange finished No. 13 in the Campbell/ITA poll. Tennessee topped the Ohio Valley Region, coming in ahead of SEC foe Vanderbilt.

UT went 19-9 on the year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2002. The Lady Volunteers also reached the Finals of the 2010 SEC Championship, marking the second straight year they have accomplished this feat.

Fans are reminded to follow the Lady Vols on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UTLadyVols

CAMPBELL/ITA FINAL RANKINGS

Team
No. 13 Tennessee

Singles
No. 10 Caitlin Whoriskey
No. 53 Maria Sorbello

Doubles
No. 1 Caitlin Whoriskey/Natalie Pluskota
No. 13 Caitlin Whoriskey/Maria Sorbello
No. 31 Rosalía Alda/Zsófia Zubor