Miami Set to Extend Win Streak with Pair of ACC Matches This Weekend
March 30, 2006
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The fifth ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team will try to extend its 11-match win streak with a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference home matches this weekend at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Hurricanes will first square off against No. 14 Georgia Tech Friday at 2:00 p.m. before facing No. 24 Clemson Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Admission to both matches is free.
The Hurricanes, who have won 12 of their last 13 matches, are 14-3 overall and sit atop the ACC with a 6-0 mark in league play. They return home after a two-match road trip that saw them defeat ACC rivals No. 16 Wake Forest, 5-2, and No. 50 NC State, 7-0, last weekend.
Miami earned its first Top Five ranking since the 1987 season on Tuesday when the Hurricanes moved up from seventh to fifth in the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The ACC was well represented in the rankings with all 12 schools fielding teams ranked among the Top 75 including six teams in the Top 25–the best in the nation.
In singles play, Miami is led by third-ranked Audra Cohen, who extended her win-streak to 20 matches after downing two ranked opponents over the weekend. Cohen is 12-0 against nationally ranked players.
Junior Audrey Banada is ranked No. 83 and is enjoying an eight-match win-streak including a 5-0 mark at the No. 5 position.
Also enjoying a win-streak is freshman Monika Dancevic who has won 10-consecutive matches and is a perfect 7-0 at the No. 2 position. She is 15-1 in dual-match play.
Much of Miami’s success can be attributed to the Hurricanes having won the doubles point in all but two matches this season. They have swept all three doubles matches 12 times, including three straight. Miami boasts two ranked doubles teams in its lineup including the 10th ranked Applebaum/Cohen pair, who is 11-0 at the No. 1 slot, and the No. 45 Banada/Monika Dancevic tandem, who is 9-1 at the No. 2 position.
Miami will face No. 14 Georgia Tech Friday in a rematch of the 2005 ACC Championship finals where the Hurricanes fell to the Yellow Jackets, 4-3. Miami, who faced Georgia Tech twice in four matches, lost both meetings by a 4-3 margin. Both teams have three wins in the all-time series although Georgia Tech has won the past three matches, including the last meeting in Coral Gables in 2001.
Georgia Tech is the only other team in the ACC who is undefeated in league play with a 5-0 mark and a 14-3 record overall. The Yellow Jackets boast five ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams in their lineup.
Friday’s match will also have the nation’s top singles player, Kristi Miller, square off against UM’s third-ranked Cohen at the No. 1 singles position. In their only previous match-up, Cohen outlasted Miller 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2005 NCAA Individual Singles Championship.
Miller pairs up with Lyndsay Shosho to compile the nation’s 12th ranked doubles tandem with an 11-6 record at the No. 1 position.
Sunday Miami will welcome No. 24 Clemson who will first stop at No. 67 FSU before facing the Hurricanes (11-4, 4-1) most recently defeated Boston College and Maryland, both by 5-2 margins. Clemson had had spent the last four weeks outside the Top 25 before being ranked 24th. The Tigers have won their last seven matches.
The Tigers are led by No. 45 Federica van Adrichem who is 6-1 at the No. 2 singles position. No. 125 Carol Salge owns a 11-4 dual-match record while No. 113 Maria Brito is 6-2 at the No. 4 slot.
Adrichem and Salge are ranked ninth in the nation with a 10-3 record at the No. 1 doubles position. Daniela Alvarez and Alexandra Luc are No. 49 at the No. 2 slot with a 7-3 mark.
Last season, Miami defeated Clemson twice in four matches, including the ACC Championship semifinal. Miami leads the all-time series 15-5.
Fans can follow both matches LIVE on hurricanesports.com. Stay-tuned to the Official Internet Home of the Miami Hurricanes for full UM Tennis match recaps and results.
