Lovato Earns Second Career National Ranking from ITA
9/8/2021 1:57:59 PM | Women's Tennis
ITA Top 125 Preseason National Singles Rankings
Esther Lovato of the Liberty women’s tennis team earned her second career singles national ranking, as she is ranked No. 120 in the country in the ITA Division I Women’s Preseason Singles Rankings heading into the fall season.
Lovato is the first player in program history to be nationally ranked on two occasions. The sophomore from Austin, Texas first broke into the national rankings in the No. 123 slot last spring (March 24). The ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings feature the top-125 singles players in the country.
“This comes as no surprise to our coaching staff. Esther had a great season last year and worked extremely hard during the summer,” said Liberty Women’s Tennis Head Coach Jeff Maren. “Her first weeks of practice this season have been excellent, so I have no doubt that she is on her way to another great season!”
An ASUN All-Conference second team and VaSID All-State singles second team honoree last spring, Lovato finished the year ranked No. 16 in the ITA Atlantic Region singles rankings. She led the team with 23 singles victories and lost only one singles matches during the year.
Lovato established a new school record with her .958 singles winning percentage (23-1 record) in 2021. Through two seasons at Liberty, she holds a combined 41-6 mark in singles and is the program record holder for best career singles winning percentage at .872.
Lovato and the Lady Flames will kick off their fall campaign by hosting the LU Invite, Saturday and Sunday at the Liberty Tennis Complex. The four-team event features Liberty, East Carolina, Marshall and William & Mary.
Liberty’s All-Time Singles National Rankings
Ranking Player Date
No. 124 Jordan Jenkins Jan. 6, 2010
No. 64 Lara Soares Nov. 14, 2018
No. 107 Ashley Bongart Feb. 20, 2019
No. 123 Esther Lovato March 24, 2021
No. 120 Esther Lovato Sept. 7, 2021