PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Rutgers women’s tennis team has been named the No. 71 team in the country in the latest ITA poll, released on Feb. 20, marking the first time the Scarlet Knights have earned a team ranking in program history.
The doubles pair of Amira Badawi and Mai Nguyen also made their second-straight appearance in the newest rankings. The duo have moved up seven spots, from No. 58 to No. 51.
RU has gotten off to a strong start to the 2024 dual campaign, playing to a 6-2 record through eight matches. Most recently, the Scarlet Knights picked up back-to-back comeback wins over Cornell (Feb. 17) and UConn (Feb. 18).
The campaign also has been highlighted by a 6-1 win over in-state opponent NJIT (Jan. 27), who was tabbed No. 61 in the latest ITA poll.
The Scarlet Knights are one of nine Big Ten teams featured in the rankings. Along with Rutgers, Michigan (No. 2), Ohio State (No. 7), Wisconsin (No. 20), Illinois (No. 24), Northwestern (No. 50), Purdue (No. 55), Iowa (No. 60), and Michigan State (No. 70) have also received national recognition.
The pair of Badawi and Nguyen’s ranking comes on the heels of a 5-2 record as a duo throughout Rutgers’ fall campaign. The pair of Scarlet Knights took down opponents from Yale, Brown, Boston, Fordham, and Temple across three events. The duo’s five wins were the most out of RU’s 18 different duos used.
Looking ahead, Rutgers is set to return home to the East Brunswick Racquet Club to host St. John’s on Friday, Feb. 23 (12:00 p.m.). From there, the Scarlet Knights will enter conference play against No. 55 Purdue on Friday, March 1 (12:00 p.m.).
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