Tennis Ranked 3rd in Nation, Heading to Nationals

Bradenton, Fla - The women's tennis team travels to Tucson, Arizona to play in the NJCAA National Tennis tournament later this week.  The Manatees have qualified for the national tournament in each of its five years of sponsoring a women's tennis program.  SCF earned the berth this year by winning the programs third FCSAA State/NJCAA Region 8 championship in April.  This marks the first time a women's sports team has won back to back state championships for the State College of Florida. 

The Manatees head in to the national tournament ranked third in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis association (ITA). The Manatees have a record of 13-1 against teams currently ranked in the top 25.  SCF's only loss was a close match against second ranked Tyler Junior College, early in the season.  A complete list of rankings can be found here. 

Individually, four of the Manatees players are ranked in the top 50 players in the nation.  Leading the charge is sophomore, Natella Nabieva, who is ranked 6th.  Nabieva has won back to back FCSAA State/NJCAA Region 8 Championships and is the reigning ITA regional champion.  Also ranked in the top 50 are: sophomore Miranda Talbert 21st, freshman Sarah Peek 38th, and  freshman Amiena Houston 48th.  Two doubles teams are, also, ranked as top teams in the nations.  The #1 doubles (Talbert/Peek) is ranked 7th and the #2 doubles (Nabieva/Houston) is ranked 16th. 

The NJCAA National Tournament starts on Sunday May 3rd at the Reffkin Tennis Center in Tucson, Arizona.  The draws for the event will be released late Saturday night.  Check SCFManatees.com for all the updates.