Miami Tennis Defeats Cross-Town Rival Florida International 5-2
March 1, 2007
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The ninth ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team hosted No. 28 Florida International and captured a 5-2 victory this afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. With the win, the Hurricanes advanced 6-2 overall, while the Golden Panthers fall 6-3.
Miami swept FIU in doubles beginning with non-ranked duo Audra Cohen and Caren Seenauth defeating No. 54 Paula Zabala and Nikkita Fountain 8-4 at the No. 2 spot. No. 8 Audrey Banada and Romy Farah faced Egle Petrauskaite and Priscilla Castillo in the No. 1 position to come up with a 9-8 (7-4) win. In the No. 3 position, Gina Sabatini and Claudia Wasilewski posted an 8-6 win over Shilla D’Armas and Maria Dolores Pazo.
The Hurricanes captured the first two singles points beginning with No. 1 ranked Audra Cohen defeating Paula Zabala 6-3, 6-2, while No. 26 Audrey Banada topped Marijana Cutuk 6-4 in the first set, then swept her opponent 6-0 in the second set, competing in the No. 2 position.
With a 6-1 advantage in the first set, junior Gina Sabatino captured the next singles point for Miami after winning 6-4 in the second over Priscilla Castillo.
With wins in the Nos. 4 and 6 spots, The Golden Panthers could not put up the final point of the match as junior Romy Farah and Egle Petrauskaite battled it out to the end on court No. 3. Farah, a native of Cali, Colombia, gained the first advantage with a 6-2 mark in the first set, but in return Petrauskaite responded with a 6-4 mark of her own in the second. Farah captured an early 4-1 advantage in the third set, before she ran away with the win at 6-1 to close the match.
The Hurricanes are back on the courts tomorrow as the Wolverines of No. 25 Michigan pay a visit to Coral Gables.
After a 5-2 loss at home against Northwestern last Friday, Michigan fell two spots to No. 25 in the latest ITA rankings, and are the top Big Ten Conference team in the poll behind No. 5 Northwestern.
Michigan is led by Sophomore Chisako Sugiyama who holds a team-best 17-4 overall record, including a 5-1 dual match mark at No. 2. She will look for her ninth win in 10 matches when she takes the court against the Hurricanes.
Freshman Tania Mahtani improved her dual-match record to 4-2 with an overall mark of 13-8. So far in 2007, she has won seven out of nine matches, wile all four of her dual match wins at the No. 5 spot have come in straight sets.
The Match is set to begin at noon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Admission is free to the public.
FIU vs. Miami Final Results
Singles Competition:
1. Audra Cohen (UM) def. Paula Zabala (FIU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Audrey Banada (UM) def. Marijana Cutuk (FIU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Romy Farah (UM) def. Egle Petrauskaite (FIU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
4. Shilla D’Armas (FIU) def. Caren Seenauth (UM) 6-4, 6-1
5. Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Priscilla Castillo (FIU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Maria Dolores Pazo (FIU) def. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Competition:
1. Audrey Banada/Romy Farah (UM) def. Egle Petrauskaite/Priscilla Castillo (FIU) 9-8 (7-4)
2. Audra Cohen/Caren Seenauth (UM) def. Paula Zabala/Nikkita Fountain (FIU) 8-4
3. Gina Sabatino/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Shilla D’Armas/Maria Dolores Pazo (FIU) 8-6
