Miami Loses NCAA Round of 16 Battle With Baylor, 4-1
May 15, 2008
TULSA, Okla. – The No. 12 University of Miami women’s tennis team saw its season come to a close with a 4-1 loss to No. 5 Baylor Thursday in the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship Round of 16 at the University of Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Miami (17-6), making its third straight Sweet 16 appearance and fourth in the last five seasons, fell behind 3-0 early on and was never able to recover. After No. 100 Romy Farah won her match at No. 2, 7-6 (7), 6-1 over No. 43 Taylor Ormond to cut the deficit to 3-1, positions one, four and six were all in third sets with the match still in the balance.
At No. 1, No. 19 Laura Vallverdu and No. 25 Zuzana Zemenova were just beginning a third set after Vallverdu won the first, 6-3, and Zemenova won the second, 7-5. At No. 6, Claudia Wasilewski took a 3-1 lead in the third set over Zuzana Chmelarova after losing the first, 6-3, and winning the second, 6-2. For Baylor (31-2), the fourth set proved to be the deciding point as No. 99 Jana Bielikova, after losing the first set to Bianca Eichkorn, 6-0, came back to win the next two sets, 6-2, 6-2, to send the Bears into the quarterfinal round.
“I’m extremely proud of our team for how far they’ve come and how hard they worked to get this far,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “It has been rewarding as a coach to see this group display such heart and commitment to our team and our program.”
The loss for Miami was only its second since March 9, having won 10 of its last 11 coming into the Round of 16.
“We’ve had a great season, but Baylor played great tennis today,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “They stepped up at the right times in doubles to change momentum and it was tough for us to get it back.”
To get to 3-0, Baylor won the doubles point and the third and fifth singles positions. In doubles play, Chmelarova and Karolina Filipiak took out Michaela Kissell and Jenna Osborne, 8-4, before the No. 6 team of Zemenova and Lenka Broosova put the Bears up 1-0 with an 8-4 win at No. 1 over No. 20 Vallverdu and Farah.
The Bears took a 2-0 lead when No. 18 Broosova downed No. 64 Kissell, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 3 before Jelena Stanivuk defeated Caren Seenauth, 6-3, 6-2, in the fifth position.
The duo of Seenauth and Eichkorn were leading the No. 2 doubles point, 6-4, over Ormond and Stanivuk when the doubles point was clinched.
“With the exception of one position in singles and one position in doubles, I’m really happy with the way we competed and left it out there today,” Yaroshuk-Tews added.
Vallverdu and Farah will now begin preparation for the singles and doubles portion of the NCAA Championship, set to begin May 21 at the same site. Vallverdu will compete in singles play while the pair will compete together as partners in the doubles competition. The singles field is comprised to 64 players while the doubles bracket features 32 teams.
For more information on the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship, click here.
NCAA Championship Round of 16
No. 5 Baylor 4, No. 12 Miami 1
Singles
1. No. 19 Laura Vallverdu (UM) vs. No. 25 Zuzana Zemenova (BU), 6-3, 5-7, 0-0 (DNF)
2. No. 100 Romy Farah (UM) def. No. 43 Taylor Ormond (BU), 7-6 (7), 6-1
3. No. 18 Lenka Broosova (BU) def. No. 64 Michaela Kissell, 6-1, 6-3
4. No. 99 Jana Bielikova (BU) def. Bianca Eichkorn (UM), 0-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Caren Seenauth (UM), 6-3, 6-2
6. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) vs. Zuzana Chmelarova (BU), 3-6, 6-2, 3-1 (DNF)
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 2, 4*
Doubles
1. No. 6 Lenka Broosova/Zuzana Zemenova (BU) def. No. 20 Laura Vallverdu/Romy Farah (UM), 8-4
2. Caren Seenauth/Bianca Eichkorn (UM) vs. Taylor Ormond/Jelena Stanivuk (BU), 6-4 (DNF)
3. Zuzana Chmelarova/Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Michaela Kissell/Jenna Osborne (UM), 8-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
