No. 10 Miami Hosts No. 3 North Carolina in ACC Home Opener
March 16, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 10th ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team will try to knock of its second third ranked opponent this season when it hosts No. 3 North Carolina Friday, March 17 in its Atlantic Coast Conference home opener. Match time at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center is at 1:00 p.m. Admission is FREE!
The Hurricanes (10-3, 3-0 ACC), who are looking to win their eighth straight match, upset then No. 3 Texas, 4-3, in Austin on Feb. 26.
Miami moved up in the rankings from 13th to 10th in the latest Fila Collegiate Team Rankings after claiming two 7-0 sweeps against ACC foes No. 28 Maryland and No. 56 Boston College last weekend.
The ACC placed four teams in the Top 10–the most in the nation. UNC is the highest ranked ACC team at No. 3 followed by No. 5 Duke, No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 10 Miami. The Pac-10 has the second most teams in the Top 10 with three.
The Hurricanes feature four ranked singles players headlined by the nation’s fourth ranked player, sophomore Audra Cohen who improved to 16-0 over the weekend. Cohen, who is 7-0 against nationally ranked opponents, is one of three ACC players listed in the Top-5. Duke’s Daniela Bercek is ranked first followed by Georgia Tech’s Kristi Miller at No. 2.
Junior Audrey Banada is ranked No. 83 thanks to an 18-8 overall record which includes a 3-0 mark at the No. 5 position. Senior Melissa Applebaum is ranked No. 102 with a 10-8 overall record. Freshman Monika Dancevic rounds out UM’s ranked singles players at No. 118. Dancevic is 15-6 overall including a 9-1 mark in UM’s last 10 matches.
Applebaum and Cohen join to comprise the nation’s 13th ranked duo. The pair has gone undefeated in seven tries since joining at the No. 1 doubles position. They are 3-0 against nationally ranked opponents.
Doubles has been a particularly strong aspect of the Hurricanes’ success this spring. Miami has won the doubles point 11 times this season and have swept all three doubles matches nine times.
Scouting the Tar Heels:
Third ranked UNC heads to Coral Gables as Miami’s most formidable opponent to date with its only two losses coming against Stanford and Notre Dame ranked first and second respectively.
The Tar Heels (17-2, 2-0 ACC) received their highest ranking in school history when they were ranked third in the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings. North Carolina has recorded five Top 25 victories and two wins against teams in the Top 10 including No. 2 Florida and No. 6 Northwestern.
The Tar Heels boast three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams in its lineup. Jenna Long leads the charge with a No. 25 ranking and a team-best 23-7 record. Caitlin Collins is ranked No. 64 with 17 wins followed by No. 97 Sara Anundsen with 16 wins. Long and Anundsen join to make-up the nation’s No. 7 ranked duo. Austin Smith and Meg Fanjoy are ranked 45th in the nation.
North Carolina leads the all-times series, 11-1. The Hurricanes claimed their first win against the Tar Heels, 5-2, last season.
The match can be followed via live stats on Hurricanesports.com
