No. 6 Hurricanes Women's Tennis Faces Tough Road Stretch
March 6, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team, currently ranked No. 6 in the country, faces a tough road stretch this weekend continuing ACC play when they travel to No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 9 Clemson in consecutive days Saturday and Sunday.
Fresh off a 6-1 victory against No. 58 Boston College on Thursday, the Hurricanes (11-2, 1-0 ACC) have little time to celebrate as they now head into a rough stretch of their schedule, facing three consecutive ACC teams ranked in the Top 20 of the Campbell’s/ITA national poll. UM will be taking on No. 8 Georgia Tech (Mar. 7) in Atlanta before then traveling up the road to No. 9 Clemson (Mar. 8). The Hurricanes will be facing both opponents at noon on both days, while a full recap and box scores will be available following each match.
UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, now in her eighth year at the helm in Coral Gables, has undoubtedly one of her best teams ever assembled, and she looks to do something she’s never done in her coaching career this weekend–beat Georgia Tech. Yaroshuk-Tews is 0-7 lifetime against the Yellow Jackets, while UM has not beaten them since the 1999 season.
Miami uses the strength of their top four in singles play as Julia Cohen (No. 13), Laura Vallverdu (No. 39), Bianca Eichkorn (No. 40) and Michaela Kissell (No. 63) hold a commanding record of 66-18 on the year at the respective positions. Meanwhile, UM is also getting strong production from newcomer Gabriela Mejia, who holds a record of 6-2 in the spring (11-9 overall), while junior Claudia Wasilewski has improved throughout the year to earn a record of 9-3 in the spring (14-7 overall).
With the meetings this weekend, Miami will now have faced 12 ranked opponents in their last 13 matches–including an unbelievable nine consecutive. On the year, UM is 8-2 against ranked foes, and has won their last three straight matches.
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.
About Georgia Tech…
Georgia Tech comes into Saturday’s match ranked No. 8 nationally. The Yellow Jackets have lost close matches against three Top 25 teams, including top-ranked Northwestern. Georgia Tech uses last year’s NCAA Individual National Champion Amanda McDowell–currently ranked No. 18 in the Campbell’s/ITA singles poll. Teammate Irina Falconi is ranked No. 5, and plays at the No. 1 position for Georgia Tech, while McDowell plays No. 2.
Series vs. Georgia Tech…
The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series between the two schools by a count of 8-2. In fact, Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews has never beaten GT, and UM hasn’t won against the Yellow Jackets since the 1999 season.
About Clemson…
Clemson sports an 8-4 record coming into this weekend’s showdown, while leaning heavily on Ani Mijacika (No. 1) and Josipa Bek (No. 4). Mijacika just ascended to the top of the ITA poll, while Bek has been consistently in the Top 5 all season. The Tigers have beaten Auburn and Fresno State as key wins on the year. Clemson currently has a 1-0 record in ACC play with a win against Georgia Tech, and they sit No. 9 in the latest ITA team poll.
Series vs. Clemson…
Miami holds a commanding 19-5 advantage in this series, while also winning the previous seven meetings with the Tigers. Clemson’s last win against Miami came back in 2000. UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews is a perfect 5-0 lifetime against the Tigers.
Lethal Weapon 4…
Miami’s Top 4 singles players are all hoisting winning records, as well as almost having three on the all-time wins list at UM. Julia Cohen (No. 1), Laura Vallverdu (No. 2), Michaela Kissell (No. 3) and Bianca Eichkorn (No. 4) may be a lethal combination to face as they hold a combined record of 66-18 on the season.
Up Next for the `Canes…
Miami hosts ACC in-state rival Florida State to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Mar. 11 for a conference match beginning at 2 p.m. The match will be available live through ACC Select. For more information, please visit www.ACCselect.com.
