UNC women rejoin Virginia men atop Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings

SKILLMAN, N.J. – In the ever-changing women’s team rankings, North Carolina has repositioned themselves back at the No. 1 spot in the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings after a three-week hiatus. Meanwhile, the Virginia men continue to hold the top spot for the sixth-straight week, since capturing the ITA Men’s Team Indoor title.

When looking at the women’s top 10 over the course of the last month, it appears March Madness is no longer taking place only on the basketball courts. North Carolina becomes the fourth team since the middle of February to capture the top spot in the rankings (Baylor, Duke, North Carolina and Northwestern). The Tar Heels, who also claimed No. 1 just three weeks ago, join Northwestern as the only teams to hold the spot multiple times.

In a dog-eat-dog season in which the top women’s programs continue to beat up one another, the top seven teams in the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings are separated by a mere six points. In fact, last week’s No. 1 team, Baylor, dropped to seventh this week, while last week’s seventh-ranked squad, UNC, shot back to No. 1 with victories over three of the previously ranked top five teams.

No matter which team will be ranked No. 1 next week, you can bet that the remainder of the season will be filled with changes at the top and worth keeping a close eye on during April’s homestretch.

Follow the Leader:For the men, following Virginia is (in order): Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas, USC, Florida, Georgia, Baylor, Kentucky and Louisville. On the women's side, North Carolina is followed by: Northwestern, Notre Dame, Florida, UCLA, Michigan, Baylor, Duke, Clemson and California.

Conference Count: Men's Top 25: SEC – 6; ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 – 5; Big Ten – 2; Big East and Sun Belt - 1. Women’s Top 25: ACC and Pac-10 – 6, SEC – 6; ACC – 5; Big East and Big Ten – 3; Big 12 and Colonial – 1. Each of the six BCS Conferences have at least one team appearing in the men’s and women’s top 10, with the SEC claiming four of the top 10 spots in the men’s rankings.

Spring and Fall: Each week there are many shifts among the men’s and women’s teams appearing in the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings. Listed below are the teams appearing in the top 50, making the most movement and worth keeping an eye on.

Twice as Nice: Twelve schools have both their men’s and women’s programs ranked inside this week’s top 25. The men’s program ranking is listed first, followed by the women’s program ranking. Baylor (8/7), California (16/10), Duke (24/8), Florida (6/4), Florida State (22/17), Georgia (7/14), North Carolina (18/1), Stanford (15/12), Tennessee (2/15), UCLA (12/5), USC (5/21) and Washington (21/19).

March Madness: With March Madness in full swing, for those following the 2010 NCAA Division I Basketball Championships. Many of the teams who have advanced to the Sweet 16 for a chance to compete for the NCAA basketball title are also battling on the tennis courts. Of the 16 men’s teams that advanced to the Sweet 16, six (Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State, Tennessee and Washington) are currently ranked in the Top 25 of the Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings. On the women’s side, six teams (Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Stanford and Tennessee) have already advanced to the Sweet 16, while Notre Dame and UCLA will try to join the group with matchups scheduled this evening.

Next Up: The next weekly National team rankings will be published Tuesday, March 30, along with the National singles and doubles rankings.

Campbell/ITA College Tennis rankings can be found at www.itatennis.com.