TEMPE, AZ. (May 28, 2026) – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released their final rankings of the year for singles, doubles and overall teams earlier this week. The Tars Women's Tennis program earned a top twenty finish while
Alyssa Novoa capped off a fantastic year as an All-American.
Alyssa Novoa put the exclamation point on her debut season in Winter Park with the #4 singles ranking in the final ITA national poll. Novoa slots in at the highest spot in program history since Vanessa Caddick in 2004. Beginning her career with an ITA Cup semifinal appearance, the Apopka native kept the momentum rolling all throughout the Spring. Novoa was a mainstay in the top five since the initial singles poll back in November. The Tars top line player had 14 wins from court one including a win over the top ranked singles player in the nation. The sophomore also added first team all-conference accolades.
As a team, the #20 ranking matches the best final clip since 2018. The ladies compiled five conference wins and her consistently in the top twenty since February. The program appeared as high as #8 in the national poll back on April 1
st and composed a season that included three wins against top 15 opponents. The team put together a winning record in both SSC play and on the road, no small feat for the difficult path the schedule presented. Further, ten wins at home were a fantastic way to launch the Tennis & Golf Center, a facility the Tars broke in with a dominant 7-0 sweep of Tampa on February 7
th. The final loss at the friendly confines came to eventual national champion Nova Southeastern in narrow, 3-4 fashion, proving that the Tars were neck-and-neck with the best programs all season long.
Head Coach
Tasi Purcell Batista shared this about her team's success, "This season tested us in every way possible, especially through the adversity of injuries, but our players never stopped fighting and representing this program with everything that they had left."
Coach Tasi continued, "Challenges like these don't break strong cultures — they reveal them. The resilience and commitment we showed this year are laying the foundation for something made to last, and I'm incredibly excited for the future and the longevity of what we are building together in this program."
She concluded, "I would say that the team finishing top 20 in the nation and having two players nationally ranked, is something to be very proud of!"
Tars sophomore
Nisan Can slotted in at #37 overall, wrapping up her initial season in a Rollins uniform with a program best 18 singles victories and a spot on the SSC second team for singles.
The Tars will be back in action next year and certainly provided ample building blocks for what is to come. Stay tuned as the excitement grows and the ladies return next Spring!
