Vallverdu, Farah Again Lead No. 11 Miami To Strong Showing
Jan. 21, 2008
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Laura Vallverdu and Romy Farah completed a perfect opening weekend in singles play in leading the No. 11 University of Miami women’s tennis team to another impressive performance on the final day of the FGCU/Johan Kriek Classic in Fort Myers Monday.
The Hurricanes, who won four of five singles matches against No. 52 Ohio State and all three doubles matches versus host Florida Gulf Coast Monday, finished the four-day event with a mark of 23-4 in singles play and 11-1 in doubles action to open the season on a commanding note.
“We played 39 overall matches as a team this weekend in pretty tough conditions and I was impressed with the way our team presented themselves,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Playing four consecutive days coming off of winter break is a great test for any program. We definitely have a lot of work ahead of us but I think it’s something that this team will welcome.”
After falling behind early on, Vallverdu prevailed in her toughest match-up of the weekend, beating OSU’s Paloma Escobedo, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 to start her season 4-0 while Farah won also won her fourth match in sound fashion, beating Julie Blackmore, 6-4, 6-1.
Caren Seenauth and Gina Sabatino also cruised to comfortable singles wins Monday, with Seenauth taking out Caitlin O’Keefe, 6-0, 6-2 and Sabatino picking up a 6-2, 6-2 win over Julie Voss. Bianca Eichkorn did suffer her first loss of the spring season however with Cami Hubbs earning a 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Miami swept its doubles opponent for the third time in four tries at the event, winning all three matches easily over teams from FGCU. Vallverdu and Farah beat Maria Maggiorini and Maria Braniecka, 8-1, Jenna Osborne and Michaela Kissell won, 8-3, over Leah Johnson and Lauren Pfeieffer while Sabatino and Wasilewski turned in strong 8-0 win over Jordan Vaughn and Brett Kinley.
The Hurricanes will now begin preparation for their first home match of the season when they will play host to Florida Atlantic, Friday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Singles results vs. Ohio State (9 a.m.)
Laura Vallverdu def. Paloma Escobedo, 5-7, 6-2, 10-7
Romy Farah def. Julie Blackmore, 6-4, 6-1
Cami Hubbs def. Bianca Eichkorn, 6-4, 6-2
Caren Seenauth def. Caitlin O’Keefe, 6-0, 6-2
Gina Sabatino def. Julie Voss, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles results vs. Florida Gulf Coast (12 p.m.)
Laura Vallverdu/Romy Farah def. Maria Maggiorini/Maria Braniecka, 8-1
Jenna Osborne/Michaela Kissell def. Leah Johnson/Lauren Pfeiffer, 8-3
Gina Sabatino/Claudia Wasilewski def. Jordan Vaughn/Brett Kinley, 8-0
