Miami Drops Two Matches Friday To Top-Ranked Opponents
May 23, 2008
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Miami’s run at the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship came to an end Friday as the nation’s top-ranked singles player and top-ranked doubles team eliminated two-time All-American Laura Vallverdu and teammate Romy Farah in the 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”?>
For the second time in as many days, Vallverdu played back-to-back matches with her doubles matches alonside Farah coming just a few hours after the conclusion of her singles contests. On Friday, Vallverdu – ranked No. 19 in singles play – lost for only the second time in more than two months with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat at the hands of No. 1 Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas before she dropped her doubles match with Farah to the No. 1 duo of Tracey Lin and Reka Zalameda of UCLA, 6-3, 6-3.
Vallverdu (31-10) and Miseviciute (51-5) battled into a 4-4 tie in the first set before Miseviciute won two of the next three games to take the set, 7-5. Miseviciute’s momentum carried over into the second set where she pulled away for the 6-1 to move into the quarterfinal round.
“I’m so proud of Laura’s season,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She grew up as an athlete and as a person this year. With a great summer and additional experience, she will surely develop into a top ten college player next season.”
In doubles, Vallverdu and Farah (18-7) traded games with Lin and Zalameda (21-3) until the UCLA duo broke a 3-3 tie to pull away for the 6-3 first-set win. In the second, UCLA got ahead early on and after Vallverdu and Farah were able to cut the deficit to 4-3, Lin and Zalameda regained control for another 6-3 win.
Vallverdu, who earned her second career All-American honor after reaching Friday’s NCAA Round of 16, finished the season tied for ninth in program history with 31 singles wins this season. Earlier in the week, Vallverdu became just the third Hurricane in program history to record at least 30 singles wins in back-to-back seasons. Her 63 career singles victories are the most in UM history for a student-athlete through her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Farah closed out her career with 62 doubles victories in her two seasons at UM, ranking her in the program’s Top 20 all-time.
Vallverdu’s singles appearance in the round of 16 was UM’s fourth in the last five years while her second round showing in doubles with Farah was the program’s third in the last four seasons.
For more information on the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship, visit Tulsa’s NCAA Championship page.
NCAA Singles Round of 16
No. 1 Aurelija Miseviciute (Arkansas) def. No. 19 Laura Vallverdu (Miami), 7-5, 6-1
NCAA Doubles Round of 16
No. 1 Tracey Lin/Reza Zalameda (UCLA) def. No. 21 Laura Vallverdu/Romy Farah (Miami), 6-3, 6-3
-UM-
