April 10, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Nadia Ravita moved up two spots in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s latest rankings, placing 22nd nationally in singles while earning the highest ranking for a UK player since 2006 when Kim Coventry opened the season ranked 15th.

“A top-25 ranking in an impressive achievement, not only for Nadia but for the rest of the team,” UK head coach Carlos Drada said. “All of the ladies have committed to the team goals and it is great to see this collective effort manifest positively with individual results. Hopefully Nadia’s results will be an example of what is possible to the rest of the team.”

In her first season of collegiate competition, Ravita boasts an 18-4 record in the No. 1 singles slot, including 8-3 in the challenging Southeastern Conference.

The Jakarta, Indonesia, native has knocked off eight ranked opponents, including a signature win over fourth-ranked Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar of Texas A&M.

Ravita had to come from behind to seal the win over her top-five opponent. She fell behind early, dropping the first set 6-2 but then gained her composure and stormed back, taking the second set 6-4 from Sanchez-Quintanar. Ravita flew through the third set, taking a quick 5-0 lead before eventually clinching the match with a 6-2 win in the third set.

Coventry, the last UK player to be ranked as high as Ravita, entered her senior year as the No. 15 singles player in the nation. She was ranked 22nd in February of 2006 and eventually fell to finish the season ranked 50th.

“Nadia is currently one of two freshmen in the nation with a top-25 ranking,” Drada said. “This is definitely a great sign of things to come in the near future for our program.”

Kentucky remained 47th in the ITA’s latest team rankings and will host two top-30 teams this weekend, No. 2 Florida on Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 27 South Carolina on Sunday at noon.

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