Cohen and Applebaum Advance to NCAA Doubles Quarterfinals

May 26, 2006

STANFORD, Calif. – Miami sophomore Audra Cohen bounced back from a heartbreaking upset in the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 with a victory in doubles alongside partner Melissa Applebaum to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championship Quarterfinals Friday evening at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University.

Cohen and Applebaum paired up to defeat Maryland’s 11th ranked duo of Marianne Baker and Ramona But, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals. Miami’s second-seeded tandem improved to 24-2 overall and 17-1 against ranked opponents.

The Hurricanes will now face Fresno State’s seventh ranked Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter in the doubles quarterfinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PST. The Bulldogs defeated USC’s Dianne Matias/Carine Vermuelen duo, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 earlier in the afternoon to advance. Cohen and Applebaum faced Fresno State’s Sainz/Winterhalter pair in Miami’s 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs during the NCAA Team Championships Round of 16. The Hurricanes topped the Bulldogs, 8-4, at the No. 1 doubles position.

Earlier in the day, Cohen the No. 1 overall seed in singles, suffered a three-set upset to USC’s unseeded Lindsey Nelson in the Round of 16. After dropping the first set 6-2, Cohen was down 5-2 in the second but came back to win five straight games to force a third set. Nelson, ranked 18th nationally, won the first game of the third set but Cohen took advantage of her serve to tie the set at one-all. After losing a long game, Cohen quickly went down 4-1. She then won the next game but could not break Nelson’s serve and found herself in another 5-2 hole. Though she won the following game, Cohen could not swing momentum her way and fell 6-3 in the third to lose the match 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

Cohen suffered only her second loss of the season. After sitting out the fall while recovering from back surgery, Cohen went on to win 27-straight matches before enduring her first loss of the season. The Plantation, Fla. native bounced back and won seven straight matches to help lead the Hurricanes to the NCAA Championship Team final. Cohen was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team and earned All-American honors in both singles and doubles. She ends the season with a 34-2 record and a 22-2 mark against ranked opponents.

It was a night of upsets for the top eight seeds in the tournament as all but one failed to advance to the singles quarterfinals. Besides Cohen, No. 3 Daniela Bercek, No. 4 Zuzana Zemenova, No. 6 Amanda Fink, No. 7 Alice Barnes and No. 8 Amber Liu all suffered upset losses throughout the day.

Miami was ranked fourth in the final Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The Hurricanes have not been ranked as high as fourth since the 1987 season. The rankings are administered by a computer formula that calculates the entire season’s results. Stanford, the three-time defending national champion, ended its season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. Rounding out the top three were No. 2 Florida and No. 3 Southern California.

The Hurricanes enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in school history after advancing to the NCAA Championship Final for the first time since 1985. The seventh-seeded Hurricanes fell to top-seeded Stanford, 4-1, on Monday, May 23.

Miami was the surprise team of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. After winning the Coral Gables Regional with 4-0 wins against Boston University and Florida International, Miami reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 with a 4-1 victory over 23rd ranked Fresno State in the Round of 16. Miami garnered its first upset of the weekend by defeating No. 2 seed Notre Dame, 4-0 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinal for the first time since 1986. The Hurricanes then topped third-seeded USC, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA final.

NCAA Singles Championship – Round of 16
Lindsey Nelson (USC) def. (1) Audra Cohen (Miami) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3

NCAA Doubles Championship – Round of 16
(2) Melissa Applebaum/Audra Cohen (Miami) def. Marianne Baker/Ramona But (Maryland) 6-3, 6-4