SKILLMAN, N.J. -- The Duke women's tennis team enters the 2016 season ranked No. 16 in the nation, according to Oracle and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), as announced Tuesday. The Blue Devils slide up three spots from their final ranking of the 2015 campaign, which saw Duke reach the NCAA tournament for the 19th consecutive time under head coach Jamie Ashworth.
Last season's NCAA Champions, Vanderbilt, captured the No. 1 overall ranking, while No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Florida and tied No. 4 North Carolina and Georgia rounded out the top five. The SEC posted the most teams among all of the conferences with eight, while the ACC saw the second-most number of schools ranked in the top 25 with six. North Carolina and Duke, No. 7 Virginia, No. 13 Miami, No. 20 Clemson and No. 23 Georgia Tech also secured top-25 rankings.
In addition to the team ranking, four members of the squad, senior Beatrice Capra, freshmen Kaitlyn McCarthy and Ellyse Hamlin and junior Chalena Scholl, garnered top-80 rankings. Capra comes in at No. 28 on the list, while McCarthy garnered the No. 29 ranking. Hamlin and Scholl received the 70th and 79th ranking, respectively. Capra concluded her junior season by serving as Duke's primary competitor at the No. 1 position, earning an 11-7 mark while competing on court one. McCarthy recently concluded her first fall season of collegiate tennis, posting a team-best 10-1 singles record. Hamlin, also competing in a Duke uniform for the first time in her career, registered a 6-2 singles ledger in the fall. Scholl, who missed a portion of the 2015 season while recovering from injury, recorded a 4-3 mark this past fall.
Duke also placed the doubles team of Capra and Hamlin on the rankings list, with the duo serving as the 26th-ranked pair. The tandem of Capra and Hamlin posted a team-best record of 9-3 in the fall.
The ITA released its first regional rankings of the year as well, with Capra, McCarthy, Hamlin and Scholl all earning top-20 singles rankings in the Carolina region. Duke's four representatives are the second-most number of student-athletes from a single school appearing on the list. For the second consecutive year, Capra leads Duke with a No. 3 ranking, followed by No. 4 McCarthy, No. 10 Hamlin and No. 15 Scholl.
Three doubles teams, Capra and Hamlin, McCarthy and sophomore Samantha Harris and the duo of Scholl and freshman Jessica Ho appear among the top-10 regionally ranked teams, the most of any school in the Carolina region. The tandem of Capra and Hamlin received the No. 4 ranking, while the eighth-ranked pair of McCarthy and Harris and the ninth-ranked team of Ho and Scholl rounded out Duke's representation on the list. Harris and McCarthy posted a 4-1 record in doubles during the fall campaign, while Scholl and Ho partnered to earn a record of 4-2..
The Blue Devils begin the 2016 play Friday, Jan. 15, traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., for the three-day UNLV Invitational.
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