JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (June 6, 2007) - The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) recently announced that the ETSU women's tennis team earned a ranking of 11th in the Southeast region following the 2007 season. The ITA poll is based on the ranking by the coaches of each team in the region.

The 2007 Lady Bucs posted a 17-10 overall record after facing 12 nationally ranked or NCAA participant teams as well as five teams in the Top 25. ETSU also had five named to All-Conference teams and were regular season champions. The Lady Bucs also set an A-Sun record for most points won in a row with 49 points after sweeping their last seven regular season matches, 7-0. It is the longest winning streak of any team in the A-Sun for both the men and women.

"I am proud of our team and look forward to next year. It was a lot of pressure on the girls being returning champions and playing the conference tournament in front of their home crowd, but the adjustments are being made and I think next year will be our best year yet. We have strong returning players and a couple of new players that will have immediate impact on the lineup," said head coach Steve Brooks.

The doubles tandem of Masha Ilina (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) also garnered a regional ranking. Their performance throughout the 2007 season earned a ranking of 15th and puts them in the history books as the first Lady Bucs duo to ever earn a ranking.

"I am proud of Masha and Olya with their doubles ranking. Through the regular season they only lost one match to the No. 8 nationally ranked team from University of Georgia and in that match they had at least two game points in the last six games of the match," said Brooks.

For more on the ETSU women's tennis team, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.