Preseason ITA Atlantic South Rankings

HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's tennis team checked in at No. 9 in the 2023 preseason release of the Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic South Region team rankings, the organization announced in a release earlier this week. 

The loaded field of regionally ranked Atlantic South teams also features top-ranked Emory, Sewanee, Carnegie Mellon, Mary Washington, Washington & Lee, Christopher Newport, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, and Rhodes. 

The Fords are sitting just outside of the national rankings to start 2023 as they are the highest ranked team in the Atlantic South region not to be ranked in the national poll. Haverford is the second-highest ranked team among its Centennial Conference peers as Johns Hopkins (No. 7 region, No. 25 nationally) and Swarthmore (No. 8 region, No. 29 nationally) are also ranked in the first poll of the spring season.

Haverford appeared in the national rankings twice during the 2021-22 season, as Haverford posted the highest national ranking in program history (35th) during the previous campaign. Women's Tennis finished the season 12-7 overall, including a 7-2 record in Centennial Conference action. The Fords went 4-2 at home, 4-2 on the road, and 4-3 at neutral sites in a well-rounded season.

Abbey Russano played No. 1 singles and doubles for Haverford this spring, earning first-team All-Centennial Conference in singles and second-team honors in doubles. The Bridgewater, N.J. product went 13-6 in singles this season, including a 6-2 mark in CC play and a 6-1 mark at the top flight. Russano was the first Haverford player to earn individual qualification to the national singles tournament since Amanda Figland in 1988.