In the final 2021-22 ITA Division III Women's Tennis National Rankings, the Christopher Newport Captains were slotted in at No. 23 in the country. Additionally, for the second straight year and only the second time in program history, a freshman has concluded her first year ranked in both singles and doubles as Raine Weis was listed in both polls.
After becoming the first person in school history to qualify for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles National Championship Tournaments, Weis was ranked No. 33 in the singles rankings and No. 13 in doubles with partner Tessa Trate.
CNU was also ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic South regional rankings where Weis and Trate both collected spots in the singles and doubles polls. Weis is ranked the No. 6 singles player with Trate at No. 12 and the two together are the fourth-best doubles tandem in the area.
As a team, the No. 23 designation is the highest ranking in program history, besting last year's No. 24 finish by one spot. It is the third time the Captains have finished the year ranked in the top-25 including a No. 25 finish in the 2018 final poll. Led by head coach David Weiner, the Captains finished the year with an 8-8 overall record and a seventh consecutive trip to the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship match.
Weis joins exclusive company as she becomes only the third player in program history to earn national rankings in both singles and doubles during the same season. All-time great Johanna Ranta-aho and teammate Tessaa Trate are the only other Captains to accomplish the feat.
The rookie from Ashland, Va. appeared in the NCAA Singles National Championships and faced eventual national champion Elle Christensen in the opening round. She became the first freshman in CNU women's tennis history to qualify for the national event and finished out her year with a team-high 14 wins in singles play. Weis competed at both No. 1 and 2 in dual action, posting a 3-1 record at No. 1 and 8-4 mark at No. 2.
In doubles play, Weis paired with Trate throughout the spring season and the duo finished 10-5 at No. 1 doubles, including three wins over regionally-ranked opponents. Despite just one season together, the pair moved into a tie for tenth all-tim at Christopher Newport in victories at No. 1 as a duo, matching Lisa Fuzy and Julie Viers in 1997. The Captains' pairing qualified for the NCAA Doubles National Championships where they suffered an opening round setback.
Trate is now the first player in program history to earn a national ranking in the final doubles poll more than once in her career. She finished out her rookie campaign ranked No. 25 with Amanda Yermal in the 2021 final poll. Trate and Weis are just the fourth tandem in program history to be ranked at the conclusion of the season, joining the aforementioned Trate/Yermal pairing with McKinney Harwood and Alexandra Drye in 2017 and Johanna Ranta-aho with Olivia Reed in 2021. Trate and Weis' ranking of No. 13 is the highest in program history.
For a complete list of the final national and regional rankings, click here.
Original source can be found here.
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