Laura Vallverdu Advances To NCAA Singles Round of 32
May 21, 2008
TULSA, Okla. – University of Miami sophomore All-American Laura Vallverdu won her first career match in NCAA singles competition with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Stanford’s Jessica Nguyen Wednesday afternoon in first action of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship at the University of Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The win for No.19 Vallverdu – her 17th in her last 19 matches – moves her into Thursday’s round of 32 where she will face No. 49 Gabriela Niculescu of Southern Cal, who defeated Florida State’s No. 27 Katie Rybakova in a close 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8) first round battle also on Wednesday.
Vallverdu (30-9) gained control of the match early on against No. 13 Nguyen (28-10), taking a quick 5-0 lead in the first set. After Nguyen cut the score to 5-1, Vallverdu put her away moments later for the 6-1 first-set win. In the second, Nguyen got out to a 3-2 lead midway through the set before Vallverdu won four straight games to take the second set, 6-3.
“Laura came out early on and really set the tone today,” assistant coach Jeff Thomsen said. “She dictated play from the start of the match and after things got tight in the second set, her mental toughness proved to be the difference in the end.”
With the victory over Nguyen, Vallverdu – who won 32 matches a freshman last season – becomes just the third player in UM history to record at least 30 wins in back-to-back seasons, joining former UM All-Americans Megan Bradley (37 in ’03-04; 44 in ’04-05) and Audra Cohen (34 in ’05-06; 42 in ’06-07) in elite company.
Following her singles match with Niculescu (31-11), Vallverdu will also begin doubles play Thursday when she pairs with teammate Romy Farah to take on Vanderbilt’s No. 21 duo of Amanda Taylor and Courtney Ulery. The No. 20 team of Vallverdu and Farah (17-6) comes into the having won five of their last six matches while Taylor and Ulery enter the contest with a mark of 15-7 overall.
Vallverdu’s match against Niculescu is slated for 11 a.m. EST while her doubles match with Romy Farah against Taylor and Ulery is set for 5:30 p.m. EST.
Round of 16 play for both singles and doubles is slated for Friday, followed by quarterfinal play Saturday and semifinal play Sunday. The championship matches are scheduled to take place on Monday, May 26, the final day of the 2008 NCAA Championships.
For more information on the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship, visit Tulsa’s NCAA Championship page.
NCAA Singles First Round
No. 19 Laura Vallverdu (Miami) def. No. 13 Jessica Nguyen (Stanford), 6-1, 6-3
