Noel Ranked 3rd In The Country

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa sophomore All-American Alexa Noel is ranked No. 3 in Wednesday’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s women’s tennis national rankings. The rankings are a result of individual competition that took place this fall across the country.

Noel’s No. 3 ranking is the highest ranking in program history. The Summit, New Jersey, native won seven matches this fall, including notching a win over both the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in the nation.

Noel faced top-ranked Eryn Cayetano of USC and second-ranked Sarah Hamner of South Carolina twice each this fall, going 1-1 against both players. Noel bounced Cayetano in the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships in South Carolina and Hamner in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Fall Championships in California.

“This is an incredible accomplishment,” said head coach Sasha Schmid. “I think this is a sign of things to come this spring. Alexa had the opportunity to compete outside the Big Ten and demonstrated that she is a complete force in collegiate tennis.”

Noel had a phenomenal freshman campaign, becoming the program’s first All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and ITA Rookie of the Year, and earning first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Tournament Team accolades. Noel, an automatic qualifier at the NCAA Championships, advanced to the Round of 32 and boasted a perfect 24-0 record at No. 1 singles.

“Her goals are incredibly high,” Schmid added. “She is not going to be satisfied having anybody ahead of her in the collegiate national rankings. She is working hard and is eager to get back after it this spring and be the best player in college tennis.”

Iowa opens its 2022 spring season on Jan. 16, hosting Marquette (11 a.m.) and Drake (4 p.m.) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.