Miami Set To Host BIG EAST Tennis Championships
April 19, 2001
CORAL GABLES, Fla.–The Miami men’s and women’s teams will look to defend their titles at the 2001 BIG EAST Tennis Championships, April 20-22. The championships are hosted by the University of Miami and matches will be played at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Men’s Preview:
On the men’s side, No. 1 seed Notre Dame (15-5) and No. 2 Miami (17-3) are the favorites to duke it out for the title with the teams ranked 12th and 14th in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, respectively.
The Irish are led by junior Javier Taborga who has compiled a 10-5 spring record en route to a top 100 ranking in singles play. Taborga and his doubles partner, Aaron Talarico, are No. 21 in the ITA rankings.
Senior Michael Lang will head UM’s title defense. The veteran is No. 70 nationally and holds a 24-7 record heading into the BIG EAST Championship and will play first singles and team up with junior Jose Lieberman in second doubles action.
Newcomer Virginia Tech (12-9) earned the third seed and is currently No. 69 in the collegiate rankings. Each of the Hokies’ six singles players have at least 13 wins. Freshman Andres Laulund leads the team with 25 victories out of the fifth spot.
No. 4 seed Rutgers (10-6) earned its spot in the conference tournament with an undefeated record (6-0) versus BIG EAST opponents. The duo of junior Akshay Jagdale and freshman Greg Schweitzer will look to score points for the Scarlet Knights in first flight doubles.
Despite starting the season 1-4, No. 5 St. John’s (9-6) found its way into the BIG EAST Championship by winning eight of its last nine matches, including three straight. Senior Eric Scharf is the Red Storm’s leading point scorer with an undefeated record in dual meet first singles (14-0) and a 6-4 mark in first doubles with partner Jake Maxwell.
First-year head coach Rob Miller leads a young Boston College (13-10) squad into the tournament. The No. 6 seed Eagles will look to four rookies, Justin Slattery, Brad Anderson, Paul Colahan and Ross Pytko, to score points.
Women’s Preview:
Five of the six women’s teams at the BIG EAST Championship have been ranked in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings this season. No. 7 Notre Dame earned the No. 1 seed and a first round bye.
Miami (14-7) is ranked No. 38 in the ITA poll. The Irish tallied 20-wins for the fourth year in a row and are off to their best start since 1986 (21-4).
Senior Michelle Dasso, who is the No. 4 ranked singles player in the nation will head the ND charge. Dasso is also part of the No. 5 ranked doubles team with partner junior Becky Varnum.
The Hurricanes have defeated eight teams ranked in the ITA Top 75, including a victory at No. 32 UCLA. Freshman sensation Bettina Hafner is among the top 100 singles players in the country. She will take the court in second singles action and as part of the third doubles tandem.
No. 3 seed Boston College (11-6 in dual meets) spent the last four weeks of the season in the ITA poll, peaking at No. 58, the highest ranking in school history. Senior co-captains Cynthia Tow and Kiren Fernando will play first and second singles, respectively.
The newest member of the BIG EAST is Virginia Tech (10-11), which was ranked as high as No. 53 nationally. The No. 4 seed Hokies are led by sophomore Kristin Lanio, who has posted 15 wins in 20 dual meets this spring.
No. 5 seed Syracuse (7-9) is the fifth team to find its way into the top 75, appearing four times, most recently on March 28 (68). Seniors Michelle Neveklovska and Zuzanna Borucka and sophomore Masha Kabnova have been solid for the Orangewomen in both singles and doubles play.
Rounding out the field is No. 6 seed West Virginia (7-12). The Mountaineers won five of their last six matches.
