10th Ranked Hurricanes Upset No. 3 Tar Heels, 5-2
March 17, 2006
CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla.– The 10th ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team upset No. 3 North Carolina, 5-2, in its Atlantic Coast Conference home opener Friday afternoon at the NeilSchiffTennisCenter. The Hurricanes (11-3, 4-0 ACC) extend their win streak to eight matches and end the Tar Heels’ (17-3, 2-1 ACC) win streak at seven. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The win marks Miami’s second upset victory over a third ranked opponent this season. Miami topped then No. 3 Texas, 4-3, in Austin on Feb. 26.
“We’ve been focusing on competing well all season and that’s what it came down to today,” said head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “We’re a very talented team and we can see that if we compete like we did today we can beat any team in the country.”
Sophomore Audra Cohen, ranked fourth in the nation, won her 17th straight singles match and eighth over a ranked opponent when she topped No. 25 Jenna Long 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 1 position.
Freshman Monika Dancevic, ranked No. 118, gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 match lead when she defeated No. 97 Sara Anundsen 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 3 position.
Junior Audrey Banada, ranked 83rd, clinched the win for the Hurricanes with a 6-1, 6-3 straight-set victory over Austin Smith at the No. 4 slot.
Sophomore Patricia Starzyk claimed the Hurricanes’ fourth singles victory of the day when she topped Laura Reichert 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at the No. 5 position.
The match got underway with a nailbitting round of doubles where the Tar Heels threatened to end Miami’s seven-match doubles point win streak. UM’s duo of Banada and Dancevic got things started with a quick, 8-2 victory over Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic at the No. 2 position. With Miami needing only one match to take the doubles point, the attention turned to courts one and three where both Miami teams rallied from deficits.
At the No. 3 slot, UM’s Caren Seenauth and Starzyk pair, down 7-3, won four-straight games to tie the score at 7-7 while Miami’s 13th ranked pair of Cohen and Melissa Applebaum took the lead for the first time in the match with the score 7-6. The seventh ranked Tar Heel duo of Anundsen and Long tied the match at seven-all, however, then proceeded to take an 8-7 lead. The doubles point came down to court one after UNC’s 45th ranked Smith and Meg Fanjoy pair downed Seenauth and Starzyk, 9-7.
After tying the match at 8-8, Applebaum and Cohen clinched the doubles point and claimed the upset with a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker for a 9-8 (7-5) victory. The Hurricanes have now won the doubles point 12-out-of-14 times this season.
The Hurricanes return action Wednesday, March 22 with a non-conference match-up against No. 44 Denver. Match time at the NeilSchiffTennisCenter is set for noon.
