May 24, 2006

STANFORD, Calf. – University of Miami sophomore Audra Cohen topped Long Beach State’s Hannah Grady in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, Wednesday evening in the First Round of the NCAA Women’s Singles Championships held on the campus of Stanford University.

Cohen, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, advances to the 32-player Second Round where she will face the winner of the match against Wake Forest’s Alexandra Hirsh and Stanford’s Whitney Deason Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PST.

With the win over Grady, who is ranked No. 66 in the Fila Collegiate Tennis rankings, second-ranked Cohen improves to 33-1 overall and 21-1 against ranked opponents.

Cohen will be joined by Melissa Applebaum Thursday at 6:00 p.m. PST with the start of the NCAA Women’s Doubles Championships. The second-seeded duo will square-off against 20th ranked Paula Zabala and Nikkita Fountain of FIU in the Round of 32.