Kissell Named To ITA National Indoors All-Tournament Team

Feb. 11, 2008

SKILLMAN, N.J. – University of Miami freshman Michaela Kissell was named to the 2008 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Women’s Team Indoor Championships All-Tournament Team Monday for her performance this past week in Madison, Wis. Kissell, playing in the No. 3 singles position for the ninth-ranked Hurricanes, won all three of her matches against opponents from No. 1 Stanford, No. 7 California and No. 13 William & Mary.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

“It is a huge honor for one of our players to represent the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Miami on this team,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “It really shows that all the hard work Michaela has been putting in is really paying off for her. It is nice to see.”

Kissell opened the tournament with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 55 Ragini Acharya of William & Mary on Thursday, helping advance Miami into the event’s quarterfinal round for the fourth consecutive season with a 4-1 win over the Tribe. The following day, the Hurricanes lost a tight match to top-ranked Stanford, 4-3, but Kissell continued her solid play with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over the Cardinal’s Hilary Barte. UM would beat Cal, 4-3 in quarterfinal consolation action on Saturday, thanks in part to Kissell’s 6-1, 6-4 win over Cristina Visico to put the `Canes up 2-1 at the time.

With her three victories in Madison, Kissell extended her current winning streak to nine straight matches to open the spring, playing primarily in the `Canes third position.

Georgia Tech sophomore Kirsten Flower was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the championships. She posted a 4-0 record at No. 5 singles and 3-1 mark at No. 1 doubles with Kristi Miller. Georgia Tech beat Northwestern 4-2 in Sunday’s final at the University of Wisconsin’s A.C. Nielsen Tennis Stadium and Flower won the clinching match 6-4, 7-6 (5) over NU’s Lauren Lui. Georgia Tech joins three other programs – Georgia, Florida and Stanford – that have repeated as champions in the event’s 21-year history.

This is the first time an ITA All-Tournament Team has been named. Voters for the team included the participating coaches, the ITA National Ranking & Tournament Committee and select media covering the championships.

Kissell and the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables this week when they play host to in-state foe UCF Saturday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. and No. 11 Baylor Sunday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m.

2008 ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships All-Tournament Team

Singles

No. 1 – Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech

No. 2 – Georgia Rose, Northwestern
No. 3 – Michaela Kissell, Miami

No. 4 – Celia Durkin, Stanford

No. 5 – Kirsten Flower, Georgia Tech
No. 6 – Suzie Matzenauer, Northwestern

Doubles

No. 1 – Kirsten Flower and Kristi Miller, Georgia Tech

No. 2 – Whitney Deason and Jessica Nguyen, Stanford
No. 3 – Noelle Hickey and Christy Striplin, Georgia Tech