Hurricanes Sweep the Hokies, 7-0 in ACC Action
March 30, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – The ninth ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team downed Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia Tech 7-0 this afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Hurricanes, seated third the league standings, improved to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. The Hokies fell to 10-9 on the season and 0-6 in conference play.
In doubles today, fans welcomed back doubles duo No. 16 ranked Audra Cohen and Laura Vallverdu as they resumed their position at the No. 1 slot. The doubles team took on Inga Beermann and Jessica Long. The Hurricanes posted an early 4-0 lead but quickly finished the set as they tacked on four more games to sweep their opponents 8-0. Despite not playing a doubles match together since February 3, today’s win marked the sixth consecutive victory for Cohen and Vallverdu, and the second consecutive at the No. 1 position.
Juniors, Gina Sabatino and Caren Seenauth partnered up to take on Ashley James and Jessica Long. Playing at the No. 3 position, the Hurricane duo posted an early 6-2 lead, and then went on to clinch the doubles point after finishing 8-2. Today was a sweet victory as it also marked the first match for Sabatino and Seenauth, who have not been on the court together in doubles since February 3.
All eyes were on court No. 2 as the twenty-second ranked duo Audrey Banada and Romy Farah defeated Jessica Brouwer and Abbey Walker 8-4. Together, they are 11-4 on the dual season.
Not wasting any time in singles, junior Gina Sabatino quickly posted the first singles point as she swept the boards to defeat the Hokies’ Abbey Walker, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 5 slot, and landing her first sweep of the season.
Not far behind to capture the third singles point for Miami, Seenauth went up against J.J. Larson at the No. 4 position and held her opponent to just one game in the first set at 6-1. With a 5-1 lead in the second set en route to the singles win, Seenauth defeated Larson 6-1 to put Miami up 3-0 in the match.
Farah clinched the match for the Hurricanes as she quickly swept her opponent Ashley James 6-0 in the first set, and went up early at 3-0 in the second. James rallied to post two more games, but Farah went on to stretch her lead and capture the win at 6-2.
No. 1 ranked Cohen who was fired-up and ready for competition at the No. 1 slot, defeated Inga Berman 6-2, 6-2 to stretch her match-streak to 12 overall singles victories in the dual season.
Senior Emily Mowery competed in the No. 6 position and posted an early 5-2 lead over Natalie Kretzer. Mowery captured the first set at 6-2 and then held her opponent to just two games again in the second set to win the match at 6-2.
In No. 2 singles, the Hokies’ Jessica Long trailed close behind thirty-eighth ranked Banada at 4-3. Long went on to capture two more games in the first set, but Banada put an end to her opponent’s run to win the set at 6-4. The first game in the second set was posted by the junior Hokie, before the match went into a brief back-and-forth battle, as Banada went up 5-1 before Long responded to put the score at 5-2 in favor of Miami. Soon after, Banda went on to win the final set at 6-2 to post the final score of the day for Miami.
The Hurricanes will be back in action on Sunday as they host the University of Virginia at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center beginning at noon. Fans can follow the action with up-to-the-minute live stats by logging on to the women’s tennis page on hurricanesports.com.
Tennis Match Results
Virginia Tech vs. University of Miami
Singles competition
1. #1 Audra Cohen (UM) def. Inga Beermann (VT) 6-2, 6-2
2. #38 Audrey Banada (UM) def. Jessica Long (VT) 6-4, 6-2
3. Romy Farah (UM) def. Ashley James (VT) 6-0, 6-2
4. Caren Seenauth (UM) def. J.J. Larson (VT) 6-1, 6-1
5. Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Abbey Walker (VT) 6-0, 6-0
6. Emily Mowery (UM) def. Natalie Kretzer (VT) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #16 Audra Cohen/Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Inga Beermann/J.J. Larson (VT) 8-0
2. #22 Audrey Banada/Romy Farah (UM) def. Jessica Brouwer/Abbey Walker (VT) 8-4
3. Caren Seenauth/Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Ashley James/Jessica Long (VT) 8-2
