Wisconsin’s women’s tennis team ended the year with a No. 27 ranking in the final Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings poll. UW finished second behind conference champion Northwestern In the Midwest Region, which consists of schools primarily within the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Badgers head coach Patti Henderson succeeded in bringing Wisconsin back near the top of the Midwest in 2002, earning her Big Ten and Midwest Region coach of the year. UW had slipped steadily from ninth nationally in 1996 to 37th in 1999 and went unranked for two years before rebounding to the No. 27 spot in the final poll this year with the second-place regional finish.

Two Badger singles players also ended the year ranked among the best in the region. Senior Vanessa Rauh played at one singles all season, earning her first all-Big Ten honor. Rauh was No. 10 in the region. Junior Linde Mues also received her first all-Big Ten accolade, finishing No. 12 among the Midwest region’s players. Mues was 22-12 last year with a 16-8 dual mark at two singles. She also contributed on the doubles court, with a 15-15 overall mark, including a 12-15 slate teamed with classmate Lara Vojnov.

Looking ahead to the 2002-03 campaign, the Badgers return seven letterwinners off the 2002 Big Ten runner-up squad. Lost to graduation are senior co-captains Rauh and Katie Dougherty. Henderson will enter her ninth year at Wisconsin.

— compiled from staff reports