Vallverdu Beats No. 5 Miller But UM Falls To Georgia Tech
March 9, 2008
CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla. – Sophomore All-American Laura Vallverdu picked up her second win over a Top 10 opponent this season and first against one ranked in the ITA Top 5 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over No. 5 Kristi Miller but the 11th-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team fell to No. 2 Georgia Tech, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the NeilSchiffTennisCenter.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The Hurricanes (8-4, 1-2 ACC) took the Yellow Jackets (10-3, 2-0) to a third set in the each of the top four singles positions but were unable to pick up the necessary points late in the match after falling behind 3-0.
Facing her second ITA Top 5 opponent on the weekend, Vallverdu, currently ranked 22nd by the ITA, would take control early on in the No. 1 singles position, winning the first set, 6-3. Miller would respond with a 6-3 win of her own in the second, but Vallverdu was able to swing the match back in her favor, pulling away to a 6-2 victory in the third set.
“Our hats go off to Lau for the way she performed today,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She has really shown that she belongs in the discussion when talking about the nation’s top players.”
Vallverdu, who lost a close 6-2, 7-6 (4) battle to Clemson’s third-ranked Ani Mijacika on Friday, has won seven of her last eight in UM’s top position, with four wins during that stretch coming against opponents ranked in the ITA’s Top 40.
“Over the last six years, our program has always had a dominant No. 1player that we have relied upon day in and day out,” Yaroshuk-Tews added. “Lau is proving to everyone that she belongs in that position and I’m so proud of how far she has come so quickly.”
After winning the doubles point, Georgia Tech extended its lead to 3-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 and a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6, forcing the `Canes into a position where they would need to win each of the top four spots to win the match. No. 83 Romy Farah and No. 2 Amanda McDowell would go battle back and forth in the No. 2 singles position before McDowell would eventually give the Yellow Jacktets their clinching point of the afternoon with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win
UM’s two freshmen in the lineup Sunday — No. 60 Michaela Kissell and Bianca Eichkorn — also took their opponents into the third set in the third and fourth spots respectively but No. 34 Whitney McCray edged out Kissell, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 and No. 68 Christy Striplin would out-last Eichkorn, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“The girls gave an unbelievable effort but we just came up a little short today,” Yaroshuk-Tews said.
Miami will now travel to Virginia to take on the University of Virginia Saturday, March 22 at 12 p.m. in Charlottesville before heading to Blacksburg the following day to battle Virginia Tech Sunday, March 23 at 12 p.m.
No. 2 Georgia Tech 6, No. 11 Miami 1
Singles
1. No. 22 Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. No. 5 Kristi Miller (GT), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
2. No. 2 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. No. 83 Romy Farah (UM), 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
3. No. 34 Whitney McCray (GT) def. No. 60 Michaela Kissell (UM), 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
4. No. 68 Christy Striplin (GT) def. Bianca Eichkorn (UM), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. No. 78 Noelle Hickey (GT) def. Caren Seenauth (UM), 6-1, 6-1
6. Maya Johansson (GT) def. Claudia Wasilewski (UM), 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 2*, 4, 1, 3
Doubles
1. No. 29 Kristi Miller/Kirsten Flower (GT) def. No. 24 Laura Vallverdu/Romy Farah (UM), 8-5
2. No. 52 Whitney McCray/Sasha Krupina (GT) def. Michaela Kissell/Caren Seenauth (UM), 8-3
3. Noelle Hickey/Christy Striplin (GT) def. Bianca Eichkorn/Claudia Wasilewski (UM), 8-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
