Elite of College Tennis: The Russians

April 28, 2017 Bobby Knight

This week we are highlighting the top 10 Russian men and women playing college tennis, as rated by the UTR system. The men’s top 10 is comprised of four juniors, three freshmen, two seniors, and one sophomore. The women’s top 10 is comprised of five juniors, three sophomores, one senior and one freshman. I did a profile on three men and three women and listed their accomplishments to show you why each belongs in the UTR top 10.

2017 Top 10 Russians in College Tennis … Here is our listing of today’s Top 10 Russian student-athletes in college tennis. Sign up for your own Universal Tennis Ratings account to view tennis ratings for thousands of players at www.universaltennis.com

MEN 1. Ronald Slobodchikov Jr Southern Methodist University The junior from Krasnoyarsk had a solid first season in Dallas going 18-6 in singles including 16-5 in dual-match with most of his matches coming at No. 4 and No. 5 in the lineup. This past fall Slobodchikov played mostly professional events and made a semifinal at the Russia F2 Futures and won three qualifying matches and one main draw match at the USA F39 Futures. Slododchikov has spent most of this season at the No. 1 spot in the singles lineup winning 11 matches with four of those coming over ranked opponents. Slobodchikov is currently ranked No. 66 in the latest Oracle/ITA singles rankings. 5. Svyatoslav Shainyan Fr University of Utah The freshman from Moscow began his collegiate career in the fall by winning a singles flight at the Utah Invitational. A month later Shainyan won three matches at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships which closed out his fall with an 8-4 record. Shainyan began the dual-match season by winning his first 10 matches while splitting time between No. 5 and No. 6 in the singles lineup. After the hot start, Shainyan was moved up to No. 4 in the singles lineup and he’s since been bumped up to No. 3 for the Pac-12 Championships. Shainyan is 14-3 in dual-match play with 10 of those wins coming in straight sets. 7. Nikita Lis Sr Lamar University The senior from Kaliningrad has been a mainstay in the upper half of the Cardinals singles lineup since he stepped foot on campus four years ago. Last season, Lis was named All-Southland Conference in both singles (second-team) and doubles (first-team) after going 19-12 in singles and 16-13 in doubles. This past fall, Lis went 3-1 at the UTSA Cup plus he won his first two matches at the ITA Texas Regional Championships. Lis has won 10 dual-matches so far this spring and he finished the regular season by winning six of his last seven with all but one coming at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. WOMEN

1. Anna Danilina Jr University of Florida

The junior from Moscow began her collegiate career a year ago and was named the ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year after going 30-7 in singles including 21-2 in dual-match play. This past fall, Danilina won the Dick Vitale LWR Clay Court Classic, she made the quarterfinals at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, and she also qualified for the main draw at the ITA All-American Championships. Danilina was just named named Second Team All-SEC after going 14-4 in dual-match play while splitting time between No. 3 and No. 4. Danilina is currently ranked No. 39 in the latest Oracle/ITA singles rankings. 2. Anastasia Rychagova So University of Kansas The sophomore from Moscow had a tremendous freshman year after going 27-9 in singles and 29-6 in doubles. Rychagova was named the ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and All-Big 12 First Team. This past fall, Rychagova won the Country Club of Little Rock Collegiate Invitational, she advanced to the semifinals at the ITA Central Region Championships, and she also made it to the quarterfinals at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. For the second year in a row Rychagova played every dual-match at the top spot in the singles lineup and so far this season she is 10-4 with two wins over ranked opponents. Rychagova is currently ranked No. 73 in the latest Oracle/ITA singles rankings. 3. Maria Kononova Jr University of North Texas The sophomore from Ufa was a First-Team All-Conference USA selection in both singles and doubles last season and in the next week she’s expected to earn those honors for the second year in a row. As a freshman Kononova won 15 singles matches and went 8-11 in dual-match play with all starts coming at No. 1. This season Kononova increased her win total to 25 while going 18-5 in dual-match play with all her starts coming at the top spot in the singles lineup. Kononova and her doubles partner Tamuna Kutubidze won their first 17 matches this season with two coming over ranked opponents. Kononova is currently ranked No. 78 in the latest Oracle/ITA singles rankings This is our first time highlighting the top collegiate Russians so it’ll be interesting to see who is back in the top 10 at this time next year. About UTR The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system provides tennis players worldwide a common scale for determining their level of play. The 16-level scale (from beginners to elite world-class professionals), precisely and reliably determines individual players’ ratings based on actual match results without regard for age, gender or where the matches are played. The Universal Tennis website allows visitors to view more than three million tennis results. College tennis coaches utilize UTR ratings for recruiting, for scouting opponents, and also to track the levels of their current players. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) currently uses UTR ratings to assist with selections and seedings for select regional and national events. A UTR subscription is required to search and view player ratings on the UTR system, with pricing starting at forever free for UTR Basic. The UTR Premium Plus allows subscribers access to search and view college team profiles. Top 10 Russians UTR

Feature Photo: Anna Danilina of University of Florida (Credit: Florida Gators)

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