Fifth-Ranked Miami Downs No. 22 Virginia, 6-1
March 29, 2009
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Charlottesville, Va. – The fifth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (18-3, 7-1 ACC) extended their winning streak to seven matches on Sunday afternoon, taking a 6-1 victory over No. 22 Virginia (10-6, 3-4 ACC) in ACC women’s tennis action at the Boars’ Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Miami continued their dominant play on Sunday, as the Hurricanes ventured indoors for back-to-back days as the weather in the Virginia area was littered with heavy downpours. However, for the second consecutive day, the `Canes seemed less than bothered by the speed of the indoor game or the lighting, taking two-of-three matches in doubles play, followed by five-of-six singles positions.
“I think that this goes down as one of our top two wins on the season, and I’m just impressed with the win,” expressed UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “For us to come out and take care of business against the No. 22 team in the nation the way we did just shows how resilient our kids are.”
The Cavaliers began the doubles session with their lone win as Claire Bartlett and Maggie Yahner combined for a win at the third flight over Miami’s freshman tandem of Gabriela Mejia and Alessa Waibel.
Miami then used the No. 33 ranked squad of Michaela Kissell and Laura Vallverdu to record an impressive 8-4 win over the 48th-ranked team of Jennifer Stevens and Emily Fraser at the first position. UM clinched the doubles point on the strength of Julia Cohen and Bianca Eichkorn teaming for an upset at the second slot, taking an 8-2 win over Virginia’s 64th-ranked team of Neela Vaez and Amanda Rales.
“Our [No.] one and [No.] two doubles are proving they can play with just about anyone in the country,” stated Yaroshuk-Tews. “We tried to shake it up at No. 3 a little bit since we were inside, and we put [Alessa] Waibel in that slot. But, again, one and two are playing great doubles right now.”
In singles play, the Hurricanes continued their strong play right from the beginning.
It was the `Canes two-time All-American junior No. 24 Laura Vallverdu exiting the courts first with her masterful 6-1, 6-1 win at second singles against No. 78 Jennifer Stevens. Vallverdu has been impressive in her last three matches (all wins), two against nationally-ranked foes.
Teammate and No. 6 Julia Cohen upped her winning streak to 12 matches after collecting a 6-0, 6-4 straight-set win over No. 81 Emily Fraser at the top singles position. The win for Cohen was also her seventh straight-set win in as many matches.
“The girls came out in singles and got on top early, and held the lead,” commented Yaroshuk-Tews.
Miami clinched the match at No. 3 singles with No. 40 Bianca Eichkorn triumphing over Lindsey Hardenbergh, 6-4, 6-1. It was Eichkorn’s seventh consecutive win, five of which have been straight-set wins.
Virginia finally got on the board at the sixth slot as Karoline Steiro defeated Claudia Wasilewski in a three-set affair, using as 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 line.
The Hurricanes would take the final two matches, however, as Gabriela Mejia bounced back from a tough loss yesterday to post a 6-3, 6-3 win at five singles over Claire Bartlett. No. 50 Michaela Kissell of the `Canes finished the match with a 3-6, 7-6, 10-5 win in a thrilling affair over Amanda Rales at the fourth slot.
With the win today, the Hurricanes tied their longest winning streak from the past two years at seven matches. The longest for Yaroshuk-Tews occurred during the 2005 season when they rolled off 16 consecutive wins.
Miami returns home for their next two matches by hosting ACC opponents NC State on April 3, followed by a meeting with Wake Forest on Apr. 5. Live stats for both matches will be available on the Miami athletics website.
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.
