UM Adds Two More to Main Draw of Riviera/ITA Tourney
Oct. 1, 2008
Pacific Palisades, Calif. – University of Miami women’s tennis continued strong play at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships on Wednesday advancing two more players into the main draw of the tournament at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Altogether, the Hurricanes will have three players present in the main draw of the event beginning tomorrow at 10 a.m. (PST).
Julia Cohen, ranked No. 25 and seeded No. 2 in the qualifying round, advanced to the main draw of this year’s annual event with a three-set victory against Kristi Boxx of Ole Miss. Cohen used scores of 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to fight off one of the Rebels’ top freshman in this year’s group out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Cohen’s opponent in Thursday’s first round action of the main draw will be determined later tonight after the final pairings are announced by the tournament committee.
Joining Cohen through to the main draw is classmate Bianca Eichkorn who downed Georgia’s Yvette Handyman (No. 9 seed in the qualifying round) in straight sets–6-1, 6-1. Eichkorn, this week’s UM Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week and ranked No. 109 in the nation, is riding an impressive nine-match winning streak dating back to her season-opening setback.
Eichkorn’s career-long win streak is 10 during last year’s amazing run for the Hurricanes to the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament. The Tengen, Germany native collected wins stretching from Mar. 22 against Virginia, all the way through to her loss in the season finale against Baylor.
The only down side of the day was fellow sophomore Michaela Kissell (No. 49) suffering a tough three-set loss to Duke’s Tara Iyer, ranked No. 60. Scores of 5-7, 7-6(4), 1-6 were the difference in the loss for the Hostetter, Pennsylvania native.
The main draw of the tournament begins Thursday, Oct. 2 where the Hurricanes are tied with Duke for the most competitors in this year’s main draw with three players each, respectively. Miami’s two-time All-America performer Laura Vallverdu joins Eichkorn and Cohen tomorrow for her first action of the 2008-09 campaign entering the season ranked No. 14.
Vallverdu’s first opponent of the year has yet to be determined. If successful in her first two matches, the possibility of a highly-anticipated quarterfinal matchup with the nation’s No. 1 and top-seeded Aurelija Miseviciciute of Arkansas looms for Vallverdu.
Altogether, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) accounts for at least 10 of the 32 competitors, with more qualifiers being announced later tonight (PST) after their matches. At this point, the Pac-10 Conference has six players and the SEC shows three.
As the governing body of collegiate tennis the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit presented by the USTA, and the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for men’s and women’s tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
Championship selections, updated results and live scoring can be found throughout both championships at www.itatennis.com.
