Women's Tennis Earns Preseason National Rankings Tuesday
The Thundering Herd's Schmitt and Soor Receives National Rankings

Jan. 8, 2008

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SKILLMAN, N.J. - The Marshall University women's tennis program earned a team ranking of 65th after a strong fall performance, as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Tuesday.

"This is a good starting point for the team," Marshall's head coach John Mercer said. "We look to improve this spring."

Along with the team ranking, the Herd's Kellie Schmitt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Karolina Soor (Lindesberg, Sweden) culminate the ranks with top-20 spots. Schmitt jumped 30 spots as the No. 19 singles player after she defeated Arkansas' No. 24 Nadia Abdala, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, at the All-American Championships last fall.

"Ranked in the top-20 is great for the tennis program," coach Mercer stated. "We look forward to them both having a great spring and advancing to the NCAA Tournament."

Marshall's duo of Schmitt and Soor earned the No. 15 ranking after a dominating fall season with a win over the No. 1 duo William and Mary, which sent the duo to the National Indoor Championship in Columbus, Ohio. At the championships, Schmitt and Soor defeated the No. 10 University of Tennessee's pair, but fell to the future doubles champions, Notre Dame.

The doubles pair completed fall action as the No. 1 East Regional pair. Schmitt finished the fall season as the No. 3 East Regional singles rank.

In the upcoming spring campaign, with a twenty-three game schedule, Marshall will face 11 nationally-ranked foes ranging from the No. 15 team, the College of William and Mary to the No. 75 University of Louisville team.

Complete ITA national rankings can be found at: http://www.itatennis.com/Rankings/div1_rankings.htm.