Feb. 2, 2006
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>MADISON, Wis.– Ninth ranked Miami advanced to the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the second-consecutive season after claiming a 5-2 first round victory over No. 52 Wisconsin Thursday afternoon at the A.C. Nielson Tennis Stadium.
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The Hurricanes improved to 2-0 on the season while the Badgers fell to 1-2 overall. Miami will now face No. 15 Texas in the quarterfinal round Friday, Feb. 3 at 4:00 p.m. (EST).
The match opened up with doubles where the Hurricanes claimed victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to take the doubles point. Senior Melissa Applebaum joined forces with sophomore Patricia Starzyk to upend Morgan Tuttle and Kaylan Caiati, 8-5, at the No. 2 spot. The duo has gone undefeated in four matches this spring. Sophomore Audra Cohen then paired-up with junior Audrey Banada to defeat Wisconsin’s Caitlin Burke/Elizabeth Carpenter pair, 8-6, at the No. 1 slot to clinch the point.
In singles, sophomore Caren Seenauth gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 advantage after downing Carpenter in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, in the No. 6 position.
Applebaum, at the No. 2 slot, gave up only three games en route to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nicole Beck to put Miami up 3-0.
Wisconsin then claimed a win at the No. 4 slot after No. 40 Banada retired giving Chelsea Nusslock a 3-6, 6-4, 4-1, ret. win.
Cohen, playing at the No. 1 position, battled No. 32 Burke to clinch the match for the Hurricanes. Down 4-3 in the first set, Cohen was able to fight back to take the set 7-6. She then won the second set 6-3 to give herself and Miami the victory.
Freshman Monika Dancevic added another point to the final score with an impressive victory over Tuttle at the No. 5 slot. Dancevic only dropped one game for a 6-1, 6-0 straight set win.
At the No. 3 position, Starzyk could not hold off the Badger’s Caiati who forced a third-set tie breaker for a 7-5, 4-6 (11-9) victory.
Texas (1-2) defeated second seeded Georgia Tech, 5-2, in the first round of the National Team Indoor Championships. The Longhorns are making the first appearance in the tournament after reaching the final of the NCAA Championship last season. They opened the season ranked third in the Fila Collegiate Rankings but fell to 15th after dropping matches to ArizonaState and Northwestern.
Texas holds a 7-10 advantage in the all-time series against Miami. In their last meeting, the Hurricanes claimed a 4-3 victory over the Longhorns in 2003.
Stay tuned to hurricanesports.com for up-to-date Miami women’s tennis news and results.