SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Barry University women's tennis team will open the 2015 season as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation after the Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its preseason poll Monday.
The Buccaneers, which went 28-1 last year to capture the program's second NCAA Division II National Championship, will enter the spring season as the No. 1 team for the first time in school history.
Barry's only loss last year came in a 5-4 defeat to NCAA Division I North Florida. The Bucs beat rival Armstrong Atlantic State, 5-4, to win last year's title.
Armstrong will open the year ranked No. 2. Saint Leo is third, BYU-Hawai'i fourth and Lynn fifth.
Barry junior Emma Onila is ranked fifth in singles. Freshman Sonja Larsen is seventh. Junior Karina Goia is ninth, senior Linda Fritschken 23rd, sophomore Ana Pain 32nd.
Onila and Fritschken are the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the country. Kimmy Twelker and Pain are No. 6.