After winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular season championship and completing a perfect 10-0 conference season, the St. Catherine University tennis team entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings at the No. 30 spot for the first time this season Friday. 

The Wildcats enter the national poll for the first time this season and are the only MIAC team represented. The poll – which was released just one day before the Wildcats begin the MIAC playoffs as the No. 1 seed – also marks St. Catherine as the top MIAC team in the Central Region poll in the No. 6 postion, which is tied for the team's highest position this spring. 

Carleton College follows just behind at the No. 7 spot and will host No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus College in semifinal play as the No. 2-seed in the tournament. After quarterfinal play Friday, the Wildcats learned they will face the No. 4-seed University of St. Thomas squad that earned the No. 19 nod in the regional poll.

Victoria Bravo (Tucson, Ariz.) remains the top MIAC individual in the Central Region at the No. 13 position. At No. 1 singles, Bravo was an impressive 14-2 overall and a perfect 10-0 in MIAC matches this season.

In the doubles rankings, Bravo and her partner Kylie Ketcho (Edina, Minn.) remained in the rankings at the No. 15 spot. The pair went 9-1 this season in No. 1 MIAC doubles matches. Their only loss came to Carleton's No. 1 pair Anne Lombardi adn Bridget Doyle – the two were ranked No. 2 in the region in Friday's poll. 

The latest edition of the poll is the last before selection for the NCAA tournament begins. The winner of the MIAC playoffs will receive the conference's automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA tournament. 

The Wildcats open up semifinal play Saturday against St. Thomas at 11:30 a.m. at Gustavus' Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minn. 

ITA National Release
ITA Regional Release

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