Audrey Banada Outshines as she Becomes the All-Time Leader in Career Singles
April 13, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – Senior Audrey Banada, ranked No. 44 by the ITA, captured a new career record today after posting her 104th victory in singles to become Miami’s all-time career leader in singles, surpassing former All-American Ronni Reis, who tallied 103 wins from 1985-1988. This marks Banada as the second player in Miami women’s tennis history to uphold the position as the all-time career records leader in both singles and doubles simultaneously. Former Miami star Lise Gregory also led in singles and doubles at the same time in 1987.
Banada captured the No. 1 spot, that will permanently etch her name in the record book, after she registered a 6-0, 6-1 defeat over Brooke Rogers of Maryland, in the Hurricanes’ 7-0 sweep over the Terrapins this afternoon. Overall, the Miami Beach native has a 104-23 career record, while she is on track to surpassing this mark with one more match left in the regular season, and the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament just around the corner. The senior has a 26-8 record so far this season, with nine wins over ranked opponents. In dual action, Banada is 16-4 with 10 of those victories played at the No. 2 position, which she primarily competed in this season. In the past, the senior saw most of her playing time at the Nos. 4 and 5 slots in singles.
Last fall, Banada entered the preseason ranked No. 71 and finished singles with a 7-3 record. Her most impressive victory of the fall came at the Gator Fall Classic, as Banada defeated then-No. 81 Whitney Benik of in-state rival Florida, 6-2, 6-3.
As a junior, Banada finished the 2005-06 season on a seven-match winning streak capturing an overall singles record of 29-9. In dual play, she finished 18-5 in dual play, and 11-1 in ACC dual action, as she finished with a ranking of No. 98. Banada played a key role in helping Miami advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA for the second time in three seasons after defeating Fresno State. Last season, she upended the likes of Boston College, NC State, Texas and UNC. In the final of the NCAA tournament, Banada served for the match against Stanford, leading 6-1, 5-3 and 3-0 when the match was suspended. During the fall of Banada’s junior year, she went on a five-match win streak defeating Georgia Tech, Georgia, FIU, UAB and USF at the ITA/South Regional Championships.
During her sophomore season, Banada posted an 18-4 overall singles record. At the ITA Team Indoor Championship, Banada claimed the match that clinched the win in Miami’s 4-3 upset over fourth ranked UCLA at the No. 4 position. That year at the ACC Championships, Banada clinched another match for the Hurricanes with a 4-3 win over Clemson that sent Miami to the championship final in their inaugural season in the ACC conference. Banada was named to the All-ACC team her second season, after posting a 9-0 record in league play. She held an 18-match win streak that ended at the NCAA Tournament second round when she fell to California. At the No. 5 spot, Banada posted an 8-1 mark and captured a perfect 6-0 record at the No. 6 singles position.
Banada made her presence known her freshman season, after she captured her first 30+ match record when she finished the 2003-04 season 31-2 overall. At the NCAA Regional’s, the then-rookie was responsible for what many consider to be the biggest upset in NCAA Women’s Tennis History when she defeated Lindsay Dawaf of defending NCAA Champion Florida 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 in the deciding match to propel Miami into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, and first win over Florida in 18 years. In dual play, Banada finished with 22 wins and just one loss. She defeated the likes of then-Big East opponent, Boston College and Notre Dame at the Big East Championship that year, and triumphed over UCLA in the NCAA Quarterfinals. She was ranked as high as 25 in the South Region rankings her first season as a Hurricane.
Over the span of Banada’s career, she has been a key component of Miami’s success, helping the Hurricanes establish itself as one of the premier programs in women’s college tennis. In front of Hurricane fans, Banada has recorded 48 singles wins in at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, and has been ranked as high as No. 26 in singles play. Her accolades include All-American honors, winner of the South Region Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship, three-time letterwinner, two-time All-ACC and Academic All-ACC, 2004-05 ACC Academic Honor Roll, and was nominated to the NCAA All-Tournament team her freshman year.
To go along with her new career record in singles, Banada is also the all-time leader in career doubles with a record of 131-32, surpassing former Hurricane Melissa Applebaum’s 107-34 record, for the top spot.
Today, the Hurricanes (16-5, 7-3) swept Maryland, in their second-to-last regular season match, with not one Terrapin opponent scoring past three games in singles play. No. 23 tandem Audra Cohen and Laura Vallverdu won at the No. 1 doubles spot over Marianne Baker and Michal Amir, 8-1. Doubles action also saw the collaboration of Romy Farah and Caren Seenauth at the No. 2 slot, as they defeated Brooke Rogers and Maggie MacKeever, 8-2, while Audrey Banada and Gina Sabatino teamed-up at the No. 3 position to sweep Lisa Miller and Elyse Steiner, 8-0
Miami will bounce back into action this Sunday, senior day, as they take on the Eagles of Boston College at 12 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
University of Maryland vs. University of Miami
Singles competition
1. #1 Audra Cohen (UM) def. Marianne Baker (MD) 6-1, 6-0
2. #14 Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Michal Amir (MD) 6-1, 6-2
3. #44 Audrey Banada (UM) def. Brooke Rogers (MD) 6-0, 6-1
4. Romy Farah (UM) def. Maggie MacKeever (MD) 6-0, 6-0
5. Caren Seenauth (UM) def. Lisa Miller (MD) 6-1, 6-0
6. Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Masha Senic (MD) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #23 Audra Cohen/Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Marianne Baker/Michal Amir (MD) 8-1
2. Romy Farah/Caren Seenauth (UM) def. Brooke Rogers/Maggie MacKeever (MD) 8-2
3. Audrey Banada/Gina Sabatino (UM) def. Lisa Miller/Elyse Steiner (MD) 8-0
