No. 11 Miami Travels To BC, Maryland This Weekend
April 3, 2008
CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla. – The 11th-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team, winners of four of its last five, will be in search of its second road sweep in the last three weeks when it travels to BostonCollege Saturday and Maryland Sunday for Atlantic Coast Conference action.
<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The Hurricanes improved to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in league play this past weekend after picking up its second win this season against a Top 10 opponent, beating then-No. 6 Duke in Coral Gables last Friday, 4-3. UM was in search of its fourth straight win on Sunday when a close battle with No. 12 North Carolina was suspended with the score tied 2-2. A make-up date to resume the match between the `Canes and the Tar Heels is yet to have been determined.
Miami will take on BostonCollege Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Flynn Recreation Complex in Chestnut Hill, Mass. before turning around and playing Maryland the following morning at 10 a.m. at the TennisCenter at College Park.
This weekend’s matches against BC and Maryland will be the first two matches against an un-ranked opponent since the Hurricanes beat UCF, 6-1, on Feb. 16. In fact, prior to this weekend’s matches, Miami has gone up against nine straight teams ranked inside the ITA Top 50 and has wins over No. 47 Wichita State, No. 42 Clemson, No. 50 Virginia, No. 47 Virginia Tech and No. 6 Duke over that span.
Yaroshuk-Tews Closing In On Record
UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, in her seventh season at the helm of the women’s tennis program, needs just three more wins to surpass Ian Duvenhage’s 131 career wins to become the school’s all-time winningest coach. With 118 wins coming into the 2007-08 season, Yaroshuk-Tews has led UM to 11 wins so far this spring and needs just two wins to tie and three to pass Duvenhage’s mark with four, possibly five – if the UNC match is able to be resumed — regular season matches remaining.
Lau and Romy
UM’s No. 1 doubles tandem of sophomore All-American Laura Vallverdu and senior Romy Farah continues to play well as the team moves deeper into the season. After winning seven of their first 10 matches to open the spring, the duo entered the ITA’s doubles rankings as the 31st-ranked team nationally the week of Feb. 18-24. After dropping to No. 35 the following week, the pair has gradually worked its way up in the rankings, moving up to 24th in early March before jumping to No. 19 two weeks ago. This past weekend, Vallverdu and Farah picked up their biggest win of the year, crushing Duke’s third-ranked team of Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson, 8-2, and as a result, have moved up to No. 15 in this week’s doubles poll.
Triple Threat
Three Hurricanes are currently ranked in the ITA singles rankings, with sophomore All-American Laura Vallverdu continuing to lead the way coming in at No. 20. Having won 10 of her last 11 matches overall and five of six in ACC play in UM’s top spot, Vallverdu has consistently been one of the top players in the country in singles play this season. Some of her biggest wins include victories over No. 10 Susie Babos of Cal, No. 15 Zuzana Zemenova of Baylor and No. 5 Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech. Freshman Michaela Kissell and senior Romy Farah are UM’s other two ranked singles players, with Kissell coming in at No. 53 and Farah at No. 80. Kissell and Farah have split time in the second and third positions the last two weekends.
ACC in the Rankings
The ACC still has nine teams ranked in the ITA Top 50 in No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 7 Duke, No. 11 UM, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 18 Florida State, No. 23 Clemson, No. 32 Wake Forest, No. 40 Virginia and No. 50 NC State. The league, which represents nearly 20 percent of the ITA’s Top 50, nearly got a 10th team in this week with Virginia Tech coming in at No. 51.
About BostonCollege
The Eagles own a mark of 9-7 overall and 1-6 in ACC action and have dropped four straight coming into the weekend, including a 7-0 loss to No. 50 Virginia Tech and a 5-2 defeat at the hands of No. 38 Virginia this past weekend. Lana Krasnopolsky has gone 3-4 in BC’s No. 1 singles position in ACC play while Dasha Cherkasov has played all but one match during league play at No. 2, going 1-5 against conference opponents in that spot.
About Maryland
The Terrapins are 3-13 overall this season and are still in search of their first ACC win, going 0-7 against league opponents. This past weekend, Maryland lost to UVa, 7-0, and Virginia Tech, 6-1, at home. Michal Amir plays in the top spot for the Terps, going 9-13 overall and 7-9 in dual match play at No. 1. Karin Lundmark has also gone 7-9 in dual match play at No. 2, while Julia Huschke (2-6) and Maggie MacKeever (1-7) have split time at No. 3.
All-Time Series
Miami holds an impressive 18-0 combined record against BostonCollege and Maryland, going 14-0 against the Eagles and 4-0 against the Terps in the all-time series between the schools. Last season, Miami picked up a pair of 7-0 shutout wins over each team when they visited the NeilSchiffTennisCenter, April 13-14.
Up Next
The `Canes will wrap up their regular season with their only trip to the state of North Carolina this season when they play at NC State Saturday, April 12 and at Wake Forest Sunday, April 13. Both matches are scheduled for 12 p.m.
