Alabama's Erin Routliffe and Maddie Pothoff Earn ITA All-America Honors
6/8/2017 2:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Crimson Tide had a doubles tandem and a singles player earn ITA All-America honors to conclude 2017 campaign
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama women's tennis No. 2 nationally-ranked doubles pair in senior Erin Routliffe and freshman Maddie Pothoff were named All-Americans for their performance in the 2017 season, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Thursday. Routliffe also earned All-America honors in singles, as she finished the year ranked No. 20 nationally.
The duo becomes just the fourth pair in Alabama women's tennis history to earn the accolade, and Routliffe marks the fifth player in program history to do so in singles. Routliffe is now a three-time All-American in doubles, as she won the award in back-to-back years with Maya Jansen in 2014 and 2015. The Crimson Tide has had a doubles pair finish nationally ranked No. 2 four times in school history, and Routliffe's final No. 20 ranking in singles ranks as the fourth-best singles finish in program history.
Pothoff and Routliffe most recently 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 en route to a finals appearance in the NCAA doubles bracket. The most notable win the pair had on the year was in a 7-6(4) decision against Kentucky's No. 4-ranked doubles team Aldila Sutjiadi and Mami Adachi.
Routliffe ended the year with 17 total singles victories, including 13 during dual-match play. She finished the year with seven wins over nationally-ranked singles opponents. The talented senior compiled 85 career total singles victories, which ranks eighth on Alabama's career singles wins list. Her most impressive singles wins came in straight sets against Kentucky's No. 19-ranked singles player Sutijadi on March 24. Routliffe's highest ranking achieved this year came on May 4, when she earned a No. 13 ranking.
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