Erin Routliffe and Maddie Pothoff Conclude 2017 Season Nationally Ranked No. 2 in Doubles; Routliffe Finished Ranked No. 20 in Singles
5/31/2017 3:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Crimson Tide concluded 2016-17 campaign with a No. 43 national team ranking
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team finished the 2016-17 campaign with a No. 43 national team ranking, including two singles players and a doubles tandem that finished ranked, announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide ended the year with an 8-16 overall record boasting 54 wins in singles play in the dual-match season and 32 doubles victories.
Senior Erin Routliffe and freshman Maddie Pothoff concluded the season with an impressive No. 2 national ranking in doubles play. On Monday, the duo fell short in the national championship match of the 2017 NCAA doubles bracket in a contest decided in a third-set tiebreaker. Together the two registered nine wins over nationally-ranked doubles opponents, including four victories against ranked opponents in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The tandem topped Stanford's No. 39-ranked doubles pair Emily Arbuthnott and Taylor Davidson, Georgia Tech's No. 29-ranked doubles team Kenya Jones and Paige Hourigan, Denver's No. 17-ranked doubles duo Julia O'Loughlin and Maureen Slattery and LSU's No. 16-ranked doubles team Ryann Foster Joana Valle Costa in route to a finals appearance in the NCAA doubles bracket.
Routliffe ended the year with a No. 20 ranking in singles after compiling 17 total singles victories, including 13 during dual-match play. She ended the year with seven wins over nationally-ranked singles opponents. The gifted senior compiled 85 career total singles victories, which ranks eighth on Alabama's career singles wins list. Her most impressive singles win came in straight sets against Kentucky's No. 19-ranked singles player, Aldila Sutjiadi, on March 24th. Routliffe's highest singles rank achieved this year came on May 4, when she earned a No. 13 ranking.
Sophomore Andie Daniell finished the campaign with her highest singles ranking all year at No. 71. Daniell led the team for the most singles wins since the start of the spring season with 14, and was third on the team in total doubles wins and doubles victories since the start of the dual-match season with 17 and 11, respectively. During the 2016 fall season, she teamed up with Routliffe to win the 2016 ITF 10k LTP Charleston Championship, 2016 ITA Southern Regional Doubles Championship and made an appearance in the quarterfinals of the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships bracket. She also advanced to the second round of the Nashville Women's $25k Pro Tennis Classic during the fall. Her highest doubles ranking was No. 42 on February 21. Daniell registered four wins over nationally-ranked singles opponents this year, and her most impressive win came against Arkansas' No. 92-ranked singles player Ana Oparenovic on April 14th.
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