NORFOLK, Va. (ODUSports.com) – The Old Dominion women's tennis team received some extra news heading into the ITA Indoor National Championships on Wednesday afternoon. Yuliia Starodubtseva and Tatsiana Sasnouskaya moved up two spots into the number one ranking in the latest poll, while both are ranked in the top 55 in singles.
"I am so proud of Yuliia and Tanya to see them move into the top spot in the rankings. It's a testament to the hard work they put in as a duo and it's a great honor not only for them, our program, and ODU athletics," said ODU Head Coach Dominic Manilla.
The duo is currently 1-0 this spring with a pair of matches that were unfinished. They defeated the 34th-ranked tandem of Carly Briggs and Marlee Zein of Florida 6-3 last week.
In the fall, the tandem had a stellar season with a pair of runner-up finishes at the ITA Women's All-American Championships and the ITA National Fall Championships this year.
In singles, Starodubtseva is 4-1 and is now 47th nationally after a pair of nationally-ranked wins knocking off Ava Hrastar (69th) from Georgia Tech and 20th-ranked Tiphanie Fiquet of Ole Miss with both coming in three-set matches. She was ranked 71st in the previous rankings
Sasnouskaya made a big jump moving up from 116th to 53rd in the singles rankings. She is 3-2 at number two singles and also has a pair of wins against higher-ranked opponents. Sasnouskaya defeated 38th-ranked Kylie Bilchev of Georgia Tech in straight sets and defeated 80th-ranked Sabina Machalova of Ole Miss in three sets.
