No. 8 Women's Tennis Upsets No. 7 Duke, 5-2
March 22, 2009
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Coral Gables, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (16-3, 5-1 ACC) took the doubles point, followed by four-of-six singles matches, to claim a 5-2 upset victory over the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils (11-3, 1-1 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in an ACC women’s tennis contest played at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Miami opened up the day by taking the doubles point on the strength of two-of-three matches.
“I’m just real happy with the girls overall with their composure on a day like today,” stated UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “They were excited for this match; and they were pumped for this match. But to be able to come out and keep their composure in a big match situation, it just says a lot about where our program’s headed.”
UM never trailed at flight two doubles as the team of Julia Cohen and Bianca Eichkorn improved to 5-1 on the year, taking an 8-5 decision over Duke’s Jessi Robinson and Mallory Cecil. The UM duo jumped up 5-0 in the match before surrendering their first point. Duke battled back to make it 7-5 before Cohen and Eichkorn closed out the match, sitting at deuce in the final game.
The flight one doubles match saw a pair of ranked teams face-off against each other with Duke’s 19th-ranked team of Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson taking on Miami’s 33rd-ranked squad of Michaela Kissell and Laura Vallverdu.
Vallverdu and Kissell jumped on top, 4-1, before the Blue Devils clawed back, 4-3. Miami then broke Duke’s serve, followed by holding serve, to wedge the lead, 6-3, in favor of the Hurricanes. After Duke made it 6-4, the `Canes claimed the last two games to collect the 8-4 win, thus earning UM the doubles point.
“I think the girls really pulled a lot of energy and emotion from our crowd today,” expressed Yaroshuk-Tews. “It was so good to see so many former players and parents here today, and that just really made the match that much more exciting. Everyone was into it, and I think the girls fed off that a little bit. It was just great to see their support in the crowd behind us.”
The flight three doubles was equally entertaining with Duke’s Ella Nze and Reka Zsilinszka battling Miami’s Claudia Wasilewski and Gabriela Mejia. With UM leading 2-1, Nze and Zsilinszka went on top as they claimed three straight games, moving their lead to 4-2. Mejia and Wasilewski of UM battled back to claim three straight games of their own as they used a 5-4 score to their advantage. But it was Duke pulling out three-of-four games down the stretch to earn the 8-6 victory.
“The doubles point was big, and it will always be big,” exclaimed Yaroshuk-Tews. “We’re improving in doubles. Today was definitely improvement on court three [flight three] even though we lost the match. We had some hiccups there, but we improved. And we’re playing better doubles.”
In singles play, eight ranked opponents faced each other in the first through four positions.
It was Julia Cohen (No. 6) stepping off the court first as she breezed through Duke’s Mallory Cecil (No. 31) at the first singles position, 6-3, 6-3. Cohen improves to 22-6 on the season, winning her 10th consecutive match, while stretching her record against ranked foes on the year out to 15-4.
Duke cut the UM lead to 2-1 when Jessi Robinson dispatched Claudia Wasilewski at sixth singles, using a 6-1, 6-3 line for the win. Melissa Mang would then tie the match, 2-2, as she triumphed over Miami’s Gabriela Mejia in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).
For Mejia, it was just her second loss in her last 10 matches, as she falls to 15-11 on the year (10-4 in the spring).
The Hurricanes regained the all-important lead at 3-2 when Laura Vallverdu (No. 24) fought past Duke’s Ellah Nze (No. 23) in upset fashion, 7-6(7-5), 6-4 at the second position.
Vallverdu trailed 4-1 in the first set to Nze, before rallying to knot the set, 5-5, Nze stepped out in front, 6-5, before Vallverdu claimed the next game, making it 6-6. In the extra game, Nze jumped up 3-0 before Vallverdu came back to tie things up, 4-4. With the game sitting, 5-5, Vallverdu took the last two points to claim the set, 7-6(7-5).
Vallverdu never trailed in the second set, holding a 3-1 led before Nze broke her serve to then tie the set, 3-3. Vallverdu would return the favor moments later, and then ace the final two points to collect a 5-3 advantage in the set. She would close out the set, 6-4, bouncing back from her defeat on Friday against UNC.
Vallverdu’s upset of Nze gave the Blue Devils player her first loss of the year, and just her second in the last 13 matches. Meanwhile, Vallverdu improved to 17-7 on the year, upping her ACC mark to 4-2.
With the match still swinging either way, all eyes fell on No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
Michaela Kissell (No. 50) fell behind after a 6-4 setback in the first set to Duke’s Amanda Granson (No. 73). Kissell rebounded in extraordinary fashion to produce a 6-0 score in favor of the Hurricanes’ sophomore.
In the third set, neither player looked to be able to break-serve until Granson grabbed the 3-2 lead, breaking Kissell’s serve. With the fourth game going to a deuce, Granson claimed the final two points to push ahead in the third set, 4-2.
Kissell fell behind 5-3 before then turning up the heat on Granson to claim the final four games, consecutively, as she seemed to wear down the Blue Devils’ No. 4 player. With the win, Kissell not only clinched the match for the Hurricanes, but improves to 27-7 on the season, picking up her sixth win against a ranked opponent. She also ups her winning streak to five matches.
With the match clinched, the crowd of over 500 rushed to court number three to see Bianca Eichkorn (No. 40) and Reka Zsilinszka (No. 30) square off in a classic three-set thriller.
Zsilinszka opened up the match with a 6-4 win, but Eichkorn–similar to teammate Kissell, returned the favor in dominating fashion, claiming a 6-1 triumph in the second set.
In the third set, Eichkorn moved out 2-0 before Zsilinszka battled back to steal the next three games, earning a slim 3-2 edge in the set. With the set standing equal at 5-5, Eichkorn took a lead at 6-5 as she broke Zsilinszka’s serve.
Zsilinszka promptly did the same to Eichkorn, knotting the match, 6-6.
In the extra game, Zsilinszka went up 5-3 late in the game, but was forced into three straight errors to give Eichkorn the lead, 6-5.
The Tengen, Germany native then pulled off the win with a powerful shot down the line to close-out her ninth victory over a ranked opponent this season. Eichkorn is now 30-6 on the year, tying her for 12th place all-time in program history for singles wins in a season. She is now 15-3 on the spring after handing Zsilinszka her first loss in ACC play, and just her second of the year.
“Bianca and Michaela are so important to this program,” added Yaroshuk-Tews. “Their poise in tough situations is consistent. You know what Kissell and Bianca are going to bring to the court every day. They’re absolute studs. They’re going to be for four years, because they’re just sophomores and so young. They look, play and act like they’re juniors or seniors.”
Miami will now take some much-needed days off before traveling to Virginia Tech on Mar. 28, in a match slated for a noon start. They will then play at Virginia a day later in Charlottesville.
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.
