UK women’s doubles tennis team debuts at No. 1 in ITA rankings

Kentucky’s Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi were ranked No. 1 nationally in doubles in the first Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings of the season.

Adachi and Sutjiadi, who were No. 9 in the preseason rankings, reached the finals of two national tournaments — the Oracle/ITA Masters and the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships — during the fall. Those were the only losses of the fall for the duo, which compiled a 12-2 record.

Both were also ranked in the top 100 singles, with Sutjiadi at No. 97 and Adachi 100th.

Sutjiadi was 5-1 in singles in the fall, with her only loss coming to Tennessee’s Mercedes Hammond (ranked 60th) in the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regionals. Adachi was 6-1 record, with her one loss coming against 15th-ranked Frances Altick of Vanderbilt in the same tournament.

As a team, Kentucky will start the season ranked 24th. Eight Southeastern Conference teams, led by Vanderbilt at No. 1, made the top 25.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "UK women’s doubles tennis team debuts at No. 1 in ITA rankings."