BOLIVAR, MO. ... In the first national ranking of the year by ITA Tennis, the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats are #14 in the nation and #1 in the North Central Region. SBU also has several players nationally and regionally ranked.

SBU is the top ranked MIAA team in the national rankings at #14 while Washburn University is #40. SBU finished last season in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and lost to eventual national champion West Florida. The Bearcats have won the last two MIAA Championships and North Central Regionals along with an Elite Eight finish in the 2003 spring season.

Individually, senior Dante Cipulli is #1 in the nation for singles in NCAA Division II. Earlier this fall, he won the ITA NCAA Division II National Championship and the Small Colleges Super Bowl. He then went on to post a 2-2 record in the ITA NCAA Division I Singles National Championships. Last year, he finished as the #2 singles player in the nation and was an ITA All-American along with being named MIAA MVP and all-MIAA First-Team.

On the North Central Region, SBU has three players in the top 10 singles. Cipulli is ranked #1 followed by Peter Joos at #6 and Johan Nortje at #9. Joos and Nortje each helped SBU to their second straight MIAA Championship and to the Elite Eight last year. Both players were also all-MIAA.

In doubles, Cipulli/Nortje are ranked #3 in the nation in and #1 in the North Central Region. This past fall, they finished third in the national championship match of the ITA NCAA Division II National Championships.

SBU’s spring season will start on February 11th when the travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on Christian Brothers.