No. 11 Women's Tennis Opens Season Saturday In Fort Myers
Jan. 18, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla.- The No. 11 University of Miami women’s tennis team will be among a field of eight teams when it opens its 2008 season this weekend at Florida Gulf Coast University’s FGCU/Johan Kriek Classic in Fort Myers, Jan. 19-21.
The tournament, which is a non-team scoring event that will only count towards individual records, includes three other schools currently ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 75 in No. 31 Florida International, No. 32 Wichita State and No. 52 Ohio State. Other opponents UM is scheduled to face over the weekend include UCF, Stetson, Dartmouth and host FGCU.
The Hurricanes will begin play Saturday will a full slate of matches against three schools from the state of Florida. Miami will open play when it takes on FIU in doubles play at 11 a.m. before it faces Stetson in singles action at 1 p.m. The `Canes will conclude their first day of play when they go up against UCF in doubles at 3 p.m.
Sunday’s schedule will begin with UM taking on Dartmouth in singles competition at 11 a.m. before the team pairs up to take on Wichita State in doubles at 2 p.m.
The final day of competition on Monday will begin earlier for UM when the `Canes square off against Ohio State in singles play at 9 a.m. before they battle FGCU in doubles at 12 p.m. in the tournament’s finale.
Miami returns five letterwinners from last year’s squad, including All-American sophomore Laura Vallverdu, ranked No. 29 in the ITA’s preseason singles rankings, as well as seniors Romy Farah, Caren Seenauth, Gina Sabatino and sophomore Claudia Wasilewski. UM’s three newcomers include Bianca Eichkorn and Michaela Kissell, both of whom played in the fall, and Jenna Osborne, the team’s newest member added for the spring season.
In addition to Vallverdu’s national ranking as a singles player, Farah and Seenauth, coming off a 10-6 record as a doubles pair in the fall, enter the season as the No. 48 team in ITA’s doubles rankings.
Following this weekend’s tournament, Miami will return home to host its first match of season, Friday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. against in-state foe Florida Atlantic at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
