UM Women to Face Northwestern at ITA National Indoors
Feb. 11, 2009
Match Notes in PDF Format 
| Tournament Bracket in PDF Format
Coral Gables, Fla. – The No. 15 University of Miami women’s tennis team drew top-seeded and top-ranked Northwestern University in the opening round of this year’s ITA National Indoor Team Tournament held at Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison running Feb. 13-16. The first match is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
“The ITA is delighted to have our Championships return to A.C. Nielsen Tennis Stadium,” said David A Benjamin, Executive Director of the ITA. “All our varsity student-athletes are looking forward to participating in this great event and we are most appreciative of the University of Wisconsin for serving as the host institution for the 22nd consecutive year at one of the ITA’s most prestigious events.”
In addition to Miami and Northwestern, this year’s 16-team field includes: Baylor, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia, defending champion Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Southern California, Stanford, UCLA and, of course, host Wisconsin. On the women’s side, 12 of 15 No.1 seeds from the Kick-Off Weekend have advanced to the National Team Indoors for a chance to capture the crown.
Miami enters the tournament after dropping two spots in the latest national poll, despite holding a perfect 6-0 record on the 2009 campaign. The Hurricanes are off to their second-best start under eighth-year head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. The last 6-0 start for Yaroshuk-Tews was in 2002–her first season at the helm in Coral Gables.
The Northwestern Wildcats lead the all-time series between the two teams, 5-3, taking a slim 4-3 victory over the `Canes back on Feb. 2, 2007 in Coral Gables. In fact, Northwestern has won three consecutive match-ups against UM. A possible second-round match-up with either ACC foe Duke or host Wisconsin looms the following day, either in the second round or in the consolation bracket.
The Hurricanes come in featuring four nationally-ranked players–sophomores Julia Cohen (No. 8), Bianca Eichkorn (No. 20), Michaela Kissell (No. 50) and junior two-time All-American Laura Vallverdu (No. 114). The Orange and Green also have the ranked doubles pair of Kissell and Eichkorn, currently No. 14.
Meanwhile, their counterparts from Northwestern enter the annual tournament with a perfect record at 3-0. The Wildcats have three players ranked in singles (#1 Maria Mosolova, #24 Samantha Murray and #28 Georgia Rose) and two teams ranked in doubles (#25 Rose/Lui and #26 Robison/Murray).
For up-to-date UM Women’s Tennis information, live stats, box scores and recaps, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com, and simply navigate to the women’s tennis home page.
About the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
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 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. The official ITA web site is www.itatennis.com.
