Katarina Jokic received Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors, while the Georgia women’s team garnered No. 4 team rankings in both the Oracle/ITA Division I National Team Rankings and the USTA College Top-25 Poll announced on Wednesday.
Jokic, of Novi Sad, Bosnia, defeated the top senior and No. 1 singles player of both Michigan State and Penn in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. She blew past Penn’s only ranked player, No. 121 Lina Qostal, for the first singles match to finish. At No. 12 in ITA Singles Rankings, Jokic stands as the second-highest ranked freshman in the nation. Also, she was the only freshman in the conference to play No. 1 singles for their team and go 2-0. Equally as impressive was her 2-0 showing in doubles with teammate Mariana Gould on the No. 3 court. The duo ranked 24th in ITA Doubles, clinched both doubles points decisively for the Bulldogs and was the only Georgia twosome to finish in both matches.
The Bulldogs’ (2-0) spot in the ITA Rankings stayed constant from the last announcement on Jan. 24, trailing just Florida, Vanderbilt and Stanford. The only movement inside the top-10 occurred as Georgia Tech and Texas Tech switched spots, now at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively. The most represented conference with seven institutions is the Southeastern Conference.
The 2018 season debut of the USTA College Top-25 Poll featured an identical top-5. The USTA College Top-25 Poll, which originated last spring season, is formed by a group of 11 voters that rank teams based on a point system. Again, the SEC held the most representation in the rankings with seven, three of which inside the top-10.
Full rankings for both the ITA Team Rankings and the USTA College Top-25 Poll can be found on itatennis.com and usta.com, respectively.
The two sweeps of Michigan State and Penn in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend secured Georgia’s entry into the 2018 National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 9-12 in Madison, Wis. Prior to that trip, the Bulldogs battle the Clemson Tigers this Saturday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m.