No. 6 Women's Tennis Sweeps No. 24 Florida State, 7-0
March 11, 2009
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Coral Gables, Fla. – The No. 6 Miami Hurricanes (13-3, 3-1 ACC) swept all but a single doubles match en route to a decisive 7-0 sweep of in-state rival No. 24 Florida State (7-4, 0-2 ACC) in Atlantic Coast Conference women’s tennis action played Wednesday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Miami entered the match looking to avenge last year’s back-to-back losses to their in-state foes from the capital city of Tallahassee. Of those losses, one took place in the ACC Tournament–and it’s a loss that has never left the mind of the current Hurricanes.
“It’s exciting to beat a rival in Florida State,” expressed Julia Cohen. “I know Miami lost to them last year, so it’s good to beat them.”
The doubles point had been seemingly elusive to the Hurricanes in recent matches, so UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews went with a lineup at the first and second slot that she felt confident with … and trusted could be successful today.
UM opened up the match by taking the number one doubles slot with the help of the 32nd-ranked team of Michaela Kissell and Laura Vallverdu of UM sweeping through FSU’s Katie Rybakova and Noemie Scharle, 8-0. That was followed by UM’s number two position win by sophomores Julia Cohen and Bianca Eichkorn downing Federica Suess and Jessica Sucupira (Wente), 8-1.
FSU collected the final doubles match, 8-3, with Bonny Davidson and Lauren Macfarlane defeating Miami’s duo of Gabriela Mejia and Claudia Wasilewski at the No. 3 doubles spot.
“I think we’ve found combinations at one and two that are working for us,” expressed Yaroshuk-Tews. “We have to continue to improve and get better, and I’m confident that at three [doubles] we will get better. Hopefully, we got the monkey off our back a little bit.”
In singles play, No. 13 Julia Cohen–this week’s ACC Player of the Week, wasted little time in defeating Noemie Scharle (No. 38) of the `Noles, collecting a 6-3, 6-1 straight-set win in the top singles spot. It would serve as her seventh consecutive win, and the fifth straight-set victory in that span.
“I’m just focusing better than my opponents, and I understand the game better,” commented Cohen afterwards. “Paige [Yaroshuk-Tews] has helped me out a lot with my game.”
Two-time All-American junior Laura Vallverdu (No. 39) was equally impressive as she collected a 6-2, 6-2 straight-set win against FSU’s Katie Rybakova (No. 41) in the No. 2 singles spot. For Vallverdu, it was her fifth win in her last six contests, and the second consecutive against a Top 50 opponent–upping her record in conference play to 3-1.
No. 63 Michaela Kissell of the `Canes clinched the match for the Hurricanes at the fourth slot on the strength of her 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 93 Federica Suess. Kissell has also won five of her last six matches, including back-to-back against Top 100 opponents–both in straight sets. Dating back to the end of the fall campaign, Kissell has simply been dominant, winning 17-of-19 matches since that time.
“We’ve been playing some really tough teams–from Baylor, to Stanford, to Georgia Tech,” stated Yaroshuk-Tews. “Battles like this we’ve seen all season. We have been having great competition the last four-to-five weeks. We were definitely prepared coming into this match.”
Junior Claudia Wasilewski notched her second-straight win in the N0. 6 position as she finished a three-set thriller against FSU’s Jessica Sucupira (Wente), 6-2, 1-6, 10-6. Like two of her teammates, Wasilewski has now won five of her last seven matches, improving to 3-1 in ACC matches.
Another exciting match ensued at the No. 3 singles spot as UM’s Bianca Eichkorn (No. 40) and Lauren Macfarlane stood toe-to-toe through three tantalizing sets.
Macfarlane opened up the match with a convincing 6-1 win, but Eichkorn battled back to earn a 6-3 win in the second set. The match moved into the third set, and saw both players go back-and forth until Eichkorn finally broke through in the end, 11-9.
Eichkorn’s 1-6, 6-3, 11-9 line was her eighth win in the last 10 matches, improving her conference record on the year to 2-1 after not competing in the ACC-opener against Boston College.
Another exciting match took place in the No. 5 spot as the Hurricanes looked to sweep their ACC rivals for the first time since Mar. 3, 2006 in Tallahassee. Miami was ranked No. 10 at that time, while FSU sat at No. 56.
Freshman Gabriela Mejia took a quick 6-2 opening set, only to battle in the second against FSU’s Ania Rynarzewska. Mejia led 3-1, before Rynarzewska took a 5-4 lead late. That would bring Mejia to another level, as she collected the last three games, consecutively, winning, 7-5.
Miami steps back out on the courts next Wednesday, Mar. 18 when they play host to 29th-ranked Arkansas back at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center beginning at noon. Admission to the match is free.
“Arkansas is a tough team,” continued Yaroshuk-Tews. “They’re going to be a solid team. We close out the week with UNC and Duke. We’re excited to play three great teams. That’s kind of Miami’s mentality around here–to get us ready for NCAA’s. I like to play tough battles and close matches back-to-back-to-back to get us ready come May.”
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.
