Elite of College Tennis: The Canadians

March 16, 2017 Bobby Knight

This week we are highlighting the top 10 Canadian men and women playing college tennis, as rated by the UTR system. The men’s top 10 is comprised of four freshmen, three juniors, two sophomores, and one senior. The women’s top 10 is comprised of four seniors, three sophomores, two juniors, and one freshman. I did a profile on three men and three women and listed their accomplishments to show you why each belongs in the UTR top 10.

2017 Top 10 Canadians in College Tennis … Here is our listing of today’s Top 10 Canadian student-athletes in college tennis. Sign up for your own Universal Tennis Ratings account to view tennis ratings for thousands of players at www.universaltennis.com

MEN #1 Hugo Di Feo (Ohio State University Junior - Montreal, Quebec) Di Feo’s first year in Columbus was a good one with the Montreal native named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Big Ten after posting a 22-9 record in singles. Di Feo went 15-6 in dual-match singles play while splitting time between No. 2 and No. 3 while he and Matt Mendez went 11-1 in doubles at No. 3. This year has been even better with Di Feo finishing as the runner-up at the prestigious ITA All-American Championships which included three wins over top 15 opponents. Di Feo has won 10 of his first 11 dual-matches this season with three of those coming over ranked opponents. Di Feo is currently ranked No. 3 in the latest ITA singles rankings. #2 Alexis Galarneau (North Carolina State University Freshman - Laval, Quebec) Galarneau has only been in Raleigh for six months but in that short time he’s already made a big impact. Galarneau went 6-2 during the fall with a runner-up finish at the Wolfpack Invitational and a round of 16 appearance at the ITA Carolina Regional Championship. Galarneau is 11-2 in dual-match singles play, while playing primarily at No. 2, with three of those wins coming over ranked opponents and all three were also in straight sets. Galarneau is currently ranked No. 116 in the latest ITA singles rankings #7 Raheel Manji (Indiana University Junior - Pickering, Ontario) Manji is in his third year at Indiana and after starting off his freshman year at No. 4 in the singles lineup he’s worked his way all the way up to No. 1. As a sophomore Manji won a singles title at the Wake Forest Fall Invite and then he closed out the season by winning six of his last seven matches. Manji won four of his first five dual-matches this season and was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week on February 7th after only dropping two games against a top 125 opponent. WOMEN #1 Erin Routliffe (University of Alabama Senior - Caledon, Ontario) Routliffe has just about done it all in her time in Tuscaloosa with the senior earning just about every honor possible. Routliffe has been named First-Team All-SEC in each of her first three seasons, she is a two-time ITA Doubles All-American, she won back-to-back NCAA Doubles Championships in her freshman and sophomore years, and she and her former doubles partner Maya Jansen were named ITA Doubles Team of the Year twice. Last season Routliffe went 13-6 in dual-match singles play, while splitting time between No. 1 and No. 2, and so far this season she is 8-2 with all 10 starts coming at No. 1. Routliffe is currently ranked No. 59 in the latest ITA singles rankings and she and her doubles partner Maddie Pothoff are ranked No. 25 in the latest doubles rankings. #2 Rosie Johanson (University of Virginia Freshman - Abbotsford, British Columbia) Johanson’s first season in Charlottesville is off to a great start with the freshman from British Columbia playing some excellent tennis. Johanson went 12-4 in the fall which included a singles title at the UVA Fall Invitational and a 3-0 record at the KItty Harrison Invitational. Johanson is 7-2 in dual-match play, with all nine starts coming at No. 2 singles, and she has already defeated four ranked opponents with all four of those wins coming in straight sets. Johanson is currently ranked No. 94 in the latest ITA singles rankings. #5 Wendy Zhang (Rice University Junior - Richmond, British Columbia) Zhang began her collegiate career at the University of Miami (FL) but after her sophomore year she transferred to Rice. As a sophomore at Miami she was named an ITA All-American in doubles after compiling a 26-11 record. Zhang played at No. 3 in the singles lineup last year and finished with a 13-11 dual-match record. This past fall Zhang started off 4-4 in singles but then she won her last eight matches with all but one finishing in straight sets. Zhang has already won six dual-matches this spring with most of those starts coming at the top spot in the singles lineup. It’s interesting to note that the men’s top 10 has four freshmen and one senior while the women’s top 10 only has one freshman but four seniors. Will that pattern continue - stay tuned to find out. About UTR The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system provides tennis players worldwide a common scale to determine their level of play. The 16-level scale (from beginners to elite world-class professionals), precisely and reliably determines individual players’ ratings based on actual match results without regard for age, gender or where the matches are played. The Universal Tennis website allows visitors to view more than three million tennis results. College tennis coaches utilize UTR ratings for recruiting, for scouting opponents, and also to track the levels of their current players. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) currently uses UTR ratings to assist with selections and seedings for select regional and national events. A UTR subscription is required to search and view player ratings on the UTR system, with pricing starting at forever free for UTR Basic. The UTR Premium Plus allows subscribers access to search and view college team profiles. Top 10 Canadians in College Tennis

Feature photo: Hugo Di Feo of Ohio State University.

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