Marshall University Athletics
@Herd_Tennis Nationally Ranked No. 52 by ITA
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The Marshall women's tennis team will start the dual match season ranked No. 52 in the nation in the Oracle/ITA College Tennis Rankings, which were announced on Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Additionally, junior Derya Turhan (Bad Salzuflen, Germany) was ranked No. 99 in the national singles rankings, while also earning No. 12 in the ITA Atlantic singles rankings.
In 2015, Marshall finished its season with a run to the Conference USA championship match, where the Herd fell to No. 30 Rice. MU ended its season 16-10 with a national ranking of No. 52. Marshall returns six of its seven players from last season.
Turhan started her junior campaign this season by going 2-4 in her first matches, but bounced back to finish strong with a 6-1 record in her last seven matches, for an 8-5 record in fall competition. Last season, Turhan received All-Conference USA first team singles and All-Conference USA second team doubles honors.
"It's always nice to be recognized by your peers as nationally ranked program," said Marshall head coach John Mercer. "In regards to Derya, She's a hard worker. She trains hard and competes hard. She deserves the recognition."
Marshall is one of three Conference USA teams to be nationally ranked this preseason. Rice is selected No. 31 and Old Dominion at No. 57.
The Herd will return to action on Friday, Jan. 15 when it travels to Pittsburgh, to compete in the Nishan Vartabedian Invitational hosted by University of Pittsburgh. Marshall will open its home schedule on Feb. 5 against Morehead State and Radford.
For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes on the Thundering Herd, fans can follow the Marshall women's tennis team on Twitter at @Herd_Tennis and on Facebook.
