TEMPE, AZ. – Showcasing the elite talent continuously flowing through the collegiate game, the 2022 fall season highlighted the next wave of college tennis superstars, with freshmen winning major events to climb up the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point.
Heading into the 2022-23 season, it was evident that this group of collegiate newcomers could leave their mark on the sport. This fall they did just that, sweeping the men’s singles national championships while also recording numerous strong finishes on the women’s side.
Beginning with Ethan Quinn, the Georgia freshman quickly showed how his game would translate to the collegiate level after excelling at the junior level and climbing up the ATP Singles Rankings during his redshirt season with the Bulldogs.
The No. 1 ranked Freshman/Newcomer in the 2022 ITA Preseason Rankings, Quinn immediately made his presence felt this fall, going 9-0 across all singles play, including winning the ITA Men’s All-American and Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
Quinn finished the fall ranked No. 1 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Singles Rankings and will be an integral part of the Georgia team who seeks its seventh NCAA National Championship this spring.
Right behind Quinn at No. 2 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Singles Rankings is Stanford’s Nishesh Basavareddy, another freshman powerhouse who had no difficulty taking his game from the Juniors to the collegiate level this fall.
The 2022 US Open Boys Doubles Champion went 17-1 in singles this fall, winning the ITA National Fall Championships Singles Title after taking home the Men’s Singles Consolation Title at the ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
Basavareddy will use this momentum to help lead the Stanford team back to the pinnacle of Division I men’s tennis this spring, joining No. 7 Max Basing and Arthur Fery in the strong Cardinal lineup.
The third freshman in the Top 15 of the ITA Men’s Singles Collegiate Tennis Rankings is Columbia freshman Michael Zheng.
Zheng, a 2022 Wimbledon Boys finalist, entered the fall as the No. 3 ranked newcomer in college tennis this season and has shown the ranking was justified, finishing ranked No. 11 in singles in the final fall rankings.
Playing in the ITA National Fall Championships, Zheng went on an impressive run to win the Consolation title, taking down many nationally-ranked opponents in the process.
Columbia, who finished No. 27 in the final 2022 team rankings, will rely on Zheng and three more nationally-ranked singles players to lead the Lions as they continue to establish themselves as one of the strongest non-power five programs in the country.
For the women, talented USC freshman Madison Sieg got off to a great start to her collegiate career this fall, finishing as the No. 2 ranked singles player in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
A top-five high school recruit, Sieg went 10-1 in singles this fall, beating No. 4 Daria Frayman (Princeton) and No. 8 Carson Tanguilig (North Carolina) at the Fall Ranked Spotlight Tournament.
The 2022 Milwaukee Tennis Classic Champion is one of three Trojans in the Top 25 of the ITA Collegiate Tennis Singles Rankings as USC looks to make another deep run into the postseason.
These freshmen and their teams will be back in action this spring when the dual-match season kicks off in early January.
Top 15-Ranked Freshman Singles Players
Men:
- No. 1 – Ethan Quinn, Georgia
- No. 2 – Nishesh Basavareddy, Stanford
- No. 11 – Michael Zheng, Columbia
Women:
- No. 2 – Madison Sieg, USC
