UM Women's Tennis Opens Season Ranked No. 13 in ITA National Poll
Jan. 6, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team will begin the 2009 spring season ranked No. 13 as the first bi-weekly poll was released Tuesday afternoon by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Miami welcomes back five letterwinners from the 2008 season in which they reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tennis Tournament before bowing out to Baylor. The Hurricanes return two-time All-American Laura Vallverdu, as well as sophomores Bianca Eichkorn and Michaela Kissell. Junior Claudia Wasilewski also joins the `Canes for her third season in south Florida. They also enjoy the introduction of five newcomers, including sophomore transfer Julia Cohen.
Miami finished the 2008 campaign with a record of 17-6 overall and ended the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) season in third place at 8-2. Head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews enters her eighth year at the helm of the Hurricanes women’s tennis program, and is eagerly anticipating another successful year in sunny Coral Gables. She has all the pieces in place to make a title run at UM, both in the conference and the nation.
Fellow ACC members Georgia Tech (8), Duke (9) and Clemson (11) also rank in the top 15 of the first poll. Northwestern University is atop the poll having received 17 first place votes.
In the singles and doubles polls, Julia Cohen is the highest ranked Hurricane at eighth place, also coming in fourth in the South Region poll. Cohen transferred in the summer to Miami, but spent the 2008 season as the No. 1 player for the University of Florida. At UF, Cohen was tabbed as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Rookie of the Year.
Sophomore Bianca Eichkorn comes in at No. 20 in the national poll, followed with a No. 8 spot in the regional poll. Eichkorn finished her rookie year with a record of 29-8 while finishing with an impressive 15-3 mark in the fall. She entered the fall season ranked No. 109 in the preseason poll. In the fall, Eichkorn went 7-3 against nationally ranked opposition, as well as holding a record of 5-1 against opponents ranked in the top 50.
Fellow sophomore Michaela Kissell jumps in at No. 50 after finishing up 18-10 as a freshman. Kissell went 10-5 in the fall, helping her to earn a No. 13 spot in the South Region poll. Kissell went 2-1 against opponents ranked in the top 50 during the fall campaign.
Two-time All-American Laura Vallverdu, sidelined with an injury for most of the fall campaign, enters the 2009 season ranked No. 114 after amassing a record of 2-3 in the fall. She ended last season at the No. 1 position for the Hurricanes, and collected a record of 31-10 overall–her second consecutive 30-win season for the Orange and Green. Vallverdu has a record of 65-16 in her two years at UM.
Regionally, Vallverdu begins the year at No. 7.
Vallverdu and Kissell begin the year ranked No. 6 nationally in doubles play, as well as No. 4 in the South Region poll. The duo became a newly-found success story over the summer capturing an ITA Summer Circuit Championship together. In the fall, the two combined for a record of 3-3, including a win at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kissell and Eichkorn are ranked No. 14 in the initial doubles national poll after going a blistering 3-1 in the fall together. Those wins came against ranked foes at the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships in California.
For more information on this year’s opening poll, as well as the entire ITA, please locate your internet browser to www.itatennis.com.
Miami women’s tennis kicks off the season at home against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, Jan. 23 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. For ticket information and information surrounding the UM women’s tennis program, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com.
