SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Barry University's women's tennis team will enter the 2014 season as the No. 3-ranked team in the country, as released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The Buccaneers, which lost to eventual NCAA Division II champion Armstrong Atlantic in the quarterfinals last spring, are coming off a 27-1 record in 2013.
Barry sits behind Armstrong Atlantic and BYU-Hawai'i, last year's runner-up, in the polls. Columbus State and Lynn round out the top five.
The Buccaneers doubles team of sophomore Emma Onila and junior Linda Fritschken are the top-ranked pair in the country. Barry's duo won the ITA South Region title, the ITA Small College Championships and the Super Bowl tournament, featuring smaller schools. They competed in the ITA Indoor Championships last weekend in Flushing, N.Y., where they fell to a pair of NCAA Division I tandems from the University of Southern California.
Onila is the No. 8-ranked singles player in the country. She is one of four Bucs who earned preseason national rankings.
Elisabeth Abanda is ranked ninth in singles. She and Karina Goia are ranked 13th in doubles. Goia is ranked 19th in singles. Fritschken is ranked 31st.