Florida women replace Cal at No. 1 in national rankings

Brooke Austin, a semifinalist in the $50,000 FSP Gold River
Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area last July as a wild
card, leads top-ranked Florida. Photo by Paul Bauman 

   The Florida women, who won the Southeastern Conference title on Sunday for their 16th consecutive victory, today replaced Cal as the top-ranked team in the country.

   The Gators (18-2), who had been No. 3, are led by third-ranked Brooke Austin. The sophomore from Indianapolis reached the semifinals of the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area last July as a wild card.

   Cal (19-1), which had been No. 1 since March 11, dropped to No. 2. Bears junior Maegan Manasse won the singles title in last week's Pacific-12 Conference Championships in Ojai, Calif., to improve from No. 11 nationally to No. 7. The Pac-12 does not have a women's team tournament.
   Stanford rose one spot to No. 12. 

   The Virginia men (24-4), with sophomore Collin Altamirano of Sacramento, remained No. 1 despite losing to then-No. 7 Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship final on Sunday in Cary, N.C. The Cavaliers, who will defend their NCAA team title next month, had won nine straight ACC Championship titles.
   Altamirano (23-4), who won at No. 2 singles against Wake Forest, rose seven spots to No. 33.
   Cal jumped four places to No. 12 after reaching the Pac-12 men's team final in Ojai, and Stanford improved five notches to No. 27.
   UCLA's Mackenzie McDonald, a junior from Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, soared from No. 10 to No. 5 after leading the Bruins over the Bears in the Pac-12 final.
   The brackets for the NCAA Men's and Women's Team Championships, which begin May 13 at campus sites, will be announced May 3.