Farah Captures the 4-3 Victory for Miami in an ACC Showdown over Florida State
March 6, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – Junior Romy Farah clinched the 4-3 win for the University of Miami over No. 27 Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams, this afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
The University of Miami women’s tennis team, ranked 12th in today’s ITA rankings, advance (9-2, 1-0 ACC), while the Seminoles fall (7-3, 0-1 ACC).
“We’re coming into the toughest part of our season”, commented head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “And it was great to see our team come away with an amazing win against such a talented squad.”
The hard fought battle between both squads began early in the day with doubles. Junior Audra Cohen and junior Caren Seenauth remain undefeated in No. 2 doubles at 6-0 overall. The doubles duo are now ranked No. 30 in the nation, capturing their first doubles ranking of the season. Today they took on Tapiwa Marobela and Lauren Macfarlane. The Miami duo topped their opponent 8-4.
FSU went on to capture the doubles point in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, and registered their first singles point after the two squads wrapped-up at the No. 6 position to put the Seminoles up 2-0 in the match.
Singles play continued as No. 1 ranked Cohen took on No. 98 Nicola Slater in an intense battle at the No. 1 position. After Cohen captured the first set at 6-1, she tacked on an early 5-0 lead in the second. Slater responded with an intense rally as she brought the score up 5-4. Soon after, Cohen went on to put out the fire to finish out 6-4, and posted the first singles point for the Hurricanes.
On court #5, Gina Sabatino went up early at 6-2 in her first set against Jessica Wente. Sabatino registered a 5-2 score in the second, and went on to finish her opponent 6-2, to tie the match at 2-2.
Fans shifted their attentions over to court #2, as No. 34 ranked senior Audrey Banada, up 6-4 in the first set, was already two away in the second set from winning her match over No. 82 Ania Rynarzewska with the score at 4-1. The final two games were nailed by Banada in the second set to capture the win and put Miami ahead at 3-2.
The Seminoles went on to tie the match at 3-3, after taking the win at the No. 4 spot.
This time, the pressure was on, as junior Romy Farah battled it out on her usual court #3 against No. 62 Lauren Macfarlane. Farah held her opponent to just one game in the first set, taking the 6-1 advantage. Macfarlane was down 3-1 in the second set before she rallied back with a vengeance to capture the set at 6-4, sending the match into the third set. Farah quickly got on the board first at 1-0, as fans looked on in the third set nail-biter, which soon turned into a fast-hitting showdown with both players tied with two games apiece. Farah ran with the lead to extend the game to 5-2, just before Macfarlane failed to post her next game as a result of a double fault, sending the Seminoles packing with Farah capturing the win at 6-2, and the match victory.
“In all, Florida State is good, and they came here to win”, stated Yaroshuk-Tews. “But with Romy’s intense capabilities to stay level-headed in a match like this, surely proved why she’s an outstanding athlete.”
The Hurricanes will continue ACC action at home as they host No. 14 Wake Forest Friday, March 9 beginning at 11 a.m. The match can be seen live online through ACC Select on www.accselect.com. This online video stream is presented by the Atlantic Coast Conference in partnership with Raycom Sports and Lincoln Financial Sports.
UM vs. FSU Tennis Match Results
Singles competition
1. #1 Audra Cohen (UM) def. #98 Nicola Slater (FSU) 6-1, 6-4
2. #34 Audrey Banada (UM) def. #82 Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Romy Farah (UM) def. #62 Lauren Macfarlane (FSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
4. Carolin Walter (FSU) def. Caren Seenauth (UM) 7-6, 6-1
5. Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Jessica Wente (FSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Tapiwa Marobela (FSU) def. Emily Mowery (UM) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #23 Nicola Slater/Carolin Walter (FSU) def. #8 Audrey Banada/Romy Farah (UM) 8-5
2. #30 Audra Cohen/Caren Seenauth (UM) def. Tapiwa Marobela/Lauren Macfarlane (FSU) 8-4
3. Jessica Wente/Miranda Foley (FSU) def. Gina Sabatino/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) 8-4
