Cohen Advances to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Singles Championships
May 24, 2007
Athens, G.A. – Junior Audra Cohen claimed a win in singles to advance to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championships and captured All-American honors, Thursday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. Senior Audrey Banada played in her final matches for Miami, after falling in singles and doubles.
Playing side-by-side on courts one and two, singles action got underway as Cohen and Banada kicked off the day with early morning matches.
Cohen, the No. 1 overall seed, will head to tomorrow’s Sweet 16 as a result of a 6-2, 7-6 win over No. 23 Diana Srebrovic of Florida, earning her third consecutive All-American honor. After Cohen downed the Florida Gator in the first set, Srebrovic went up two games in the second set until both players kept it tight, tying the score three times. Finally at six-all, Cohen went up one game to nail the match-win at 7-6. The Plantation, Fla. native set a new personal-high in both singles and against ranked opponents, improving to 38-2 overall and marked a 24-2 record against opponents ranked in the ITA. Tomorrow Cohen will face Stanford’s No. 14 Celia Durkin.
No. 48 Banada stayed on the heels of eighth-ranked Lindsey Nelson of Southern California in the first set, even up to match-point with Nelson in the lead 5-4, until Banada took the lead at 6-5. Nelson knocked in the next two games to take the first set 7-6. In the next set, Banada took a 3-2 lead and could only add in one more game as she fell 6-4. Banada closed out her career at Miami with an overall singles record of 32-11 for the season. As the all-time leader in singles at Miami, Banada sealed her career record to 110-25.
In doubles, 17th-ranked Cohen and Vallverdu fell 6-2, 6-2 to Stanford’s No. 21 duo Anne Yelsey and Lindsay Burdette. The Hurricane duo wraps-up the season 21-4 overall.
Banada, alongside junior Romy Farah, who are ranked 23rd in the nation, dropped a 4-6, 5-7 decision to fourth-seed Ana Cetnik and Anna Sydorska of Texas Christian University. After today’s finish Banada closed with a 38-12 overall record on the season. Finally, the North Miami Beach, Fla. native wrapped-up her career with an overall 122-32 record, as she sits as Miami’s all-time leader in doubles.
“Despite coming up a little short today, Audrey played great doubles”, commented head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “She has had an amazing career at Miami, and has always displayed an unbelievable level of leadership and sportsmanship. [Audrey] has made her mark here with this program. We are really going to miss her.”
