No. 13 UM Women's Tennis Defeats Rival No. 53 FIU, 6-1
Jan. 28, 2009
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Coral Gables, Fla. – Julia Cohen and Laura Vallverdu each picked up wins in singles and as doubles partners on Wednesday, helping the 13th-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team top No. 53 FIU, 6-1 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables.
Miami (3-0) opened up the match with a 1-0 score after taking the doubles sets, 2-1.
The No. 14 ranked doubles team of the Hurricanes’ Michaela Kissell and Bianca Eichkorn defeated FIU’s duo of Maria Vallasciani and Maria Spenceley, 8-2, at the No. 2 position to open the day’s match. Before arriving at the final score, Miami used eight serves at deuce to pull away from the Golden Panthers’ squad at 7-2. The victory helped to improve the sophomores’ record as a pair to 3-0 on the spring, as well as 6-1 overall in 2008-09.
At the No. 3 doubles spot, FIU (1-1) used their team of Maria Dolores Pazo and Mariana Muci to defeat Miami’s Alessa Waibel and Claudia Wasilewski, 8-5, in a hard-fought match.
In No. 1 doubles play, FIU jumped on top early 1-0 before Julia Cohen and Laura Vallverdu evened things at 1-1. The teams traded service points until 3-3, that’s when the Hurricanes’ duo broke the Golden Panthers’ serve to lead 4-3–eventually stretching it out to 5-3. With the score sitting at 6-3, the combatants stood through 12 Miami serves while holding deuce. Three times FIU held the advantage before UM served out the final two points, finished by a beautiful drop shot from Vallverdu, securing the 8-6 win.
In singles play, 8th-ranked Julia Cohen fell behind for UM to FIU’s Liset Brito, 1-3, in the first set before rallying to take a 6-4 set victory. She eventually ended Brito’s run while serving two aces and using three double-faults from Brito in the final two games, earning the 6-4, 6-0 straight-set win at the No. 1 position. Cohen improves her record to 3-0 for the spring.
At the No. 2 spot for the Hurricanes, two-time All-America performer Laura Vallverdu was not to be outdone by her doubles partner as she collected her third consecutive straight-set win with an amazing 6-1, 6-0 defeat of FIU’s Priscilla Castillo. Vallverdu’s power and speed at that position has again shown why UM may possess one of the best “1-2” combinations in the country with Cohen and Vallverdu.
Vallverdu, ranked No. 114 in the nation and No. 7 in the South Region, remains perfect in singles play in the spring at 3-0, yet to drop a single set.
No. 50 Michaela Kissell, another of the sophomore sensations for the Paige Yaroshuk-Tews led Hurricanes, blazed through FIU’s Maria Spenceley at the No. 4 position as the originally-scheduled Maria Vallasciani was pulled prior to the start of singles play. Kissell used a straight-set 6-1, 6-2 win to stay unbeaten on the spring at 3-0, herself.
Junior Claudia Wasilewski earned her third win of the season in straight-sets for the Orange and Green, blowing by Maria Dolores Pazo at the No. 5 position. Wasilewski is 3-0 for the spring, and has dropped no more than a single game in any one match-to-date.
At the No. 6 position, it was freshman Alessa Waibel making her debut with a come-from-behind win at the No. 6 position, defeating FIU’s Megan Jones in a three-set match on scores of 5-7, 6-3, 11-9. Waibel, playing in her first singles match of the spring, dropped the first set and trailed 2-1 in the second before mounting the comeback. In the third set, Waibel and Jones stood knotted at 5-5 before Waibel went up 7-5.
Jones battled back to tie the match at 7-7 when Waibel eased a shot to the back line, giving her the advantage at 8-7. When tied again at 8-8, Waibel again pushed in front at 9-8 before Jones scored again, making the score 9-9. Finally, Waibel was able to slide past Jones, 11-9, giving the Switzerland native her first collegiate singles win in dual match play.
The only setback on the day was Miami’s Bianca Eichkorn, ranked No. 20 nationally and No. 8 in the South Region, falling to Mariana Muci, 6-4, 6-4. Eichkorn, playing at the No. 3 position today, dropped her first match of the spring, falling to 2-1, while falling in just her third match in the last 10 outings. Eichkorn never seemed to get on track during the match.
With the win, Miami improves their all-time record against their cross-town rivals from FIU to an amazing 21-1, while Yaroshuk-Tews keeps her slate clean against the Golden Panthers at 10-0.
Miami now prepares to serve as one of 15 host sites for this weekend’s ITA National Indoor Qualifier. The event runs Saturday and Sunday, January 31-February 1, and the Coral Gables Qualifier will feature teams from Utah, Virginia, Tennessee and the homestanding Miami Hurricanes.
Miami opens play Saturday against the Utah Utes at 10 a.m. That match is to be followed by Tennessee vs. Virginia at 2 p.m., or 30 minutes following the conclusion of Miami vs. Utah.
For more information on the University of Miami women’s tennis team, please locate your internet browser to www.hurricanesports.com — the official athletic website for all varsity sports for the University of Miami Hurricanes.
