Hurricanes Take to Texas for
Feb. 20, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team takes to the road this weekend for a “Lone Star State” showdown in Texas with No. 7 Baylor and No. 21 TCU on Saturday (Feb. 21) and Sunday (Feb. 22) in the Greater Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex Area.
Miami enters this weekend’s matches sporting a record of 8-1 overall, having moved up to No. 10 this week in the inaugural Campbell’s/ITA Team Rankings released Thursday afternoon. The `Canes previously sat at 13th, before falling in last week’s poll to 15th, and now jump into the Top 10 for the first time all season.
A total of four players are ranked for the Hurricanes in the latest singles poll, led by Julia Cohen (No. 20) and Laura Vallverdu (No. 34). Vallverdu made the biggest leap from the preseason poll to the week one charts–jumping from 114th up to her current 34th position. Bianca Eichkorn slid to No. 51, while Michaela Kissell–unbeaten in her last 12 matches, slid down to No. 60.
Kissell’s 12-match winning streak for UM stands as a career-high tying mark for the Pennsylvania sophomore, while Eichkorn (also a sophomore) penciled her name among the greats at UM by collecting her 51st career victory last weekend in the ITA National Team Indoor Tournament in Madison, Wis.
For UM on the doubles side of things, the team of Vallverdu and Kissell–though not playing together in the spring thus far, hold a ranking of No. 30. The duo of sophomores Kissell and Eichkorn, sporting a record of 10-2 on the campaign (7-1 dual), fell to No. 43 this week.
Miami leads the all-time series against Baylor, 4-3, having lost twice to the Bears in 2008–including a tough 4-1 setback at the NCAA Tournament in the `Sweet 16′ in Tulsa, Okla. The Bears also collected a 4-1 decision over the Orange and Green earlier that year in Coral Gables.
The last UM win over the bears came back on Feb. 3, 2007 with the `Canes taking a 6-1 victory.
As for TCU, the Horned Frogs come into the weekend ranked 21st nationally, staying put from the previous poll where they held a similar position. The Horned Frogs took a 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes in their last meeting back on Mar. 15, 2002 in Waco, Texas.
However, Miami leads the short series between the two teams, 2-1. The `Canes last win against TCU was back during the NCAA Regional in 1998. It was a 5-3 effort in favor of the Hurricanes.
For more information on University of Miami women’s tennis, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. After browsing to the women’s tennis home page, you will find the latest news, stats and match notes pertaining to the Hurricanes Women’s Tennis program.
