Women's Tennis Travels to ACC Championships as Top Seed

April 16, 2009

ACC Tournament Notes in PDF Format

Coral Gables, Fla. – The sixth-ranked University of Miami Hurricanes enter this weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Women’s Tennis Championships in Cary, N.C. sporting the top seed after finishing the regular season 21-3 (10-1 ACC). The `Canes begin their quest for an ACC title Friday at 9 a.m., facing off against Wake Forest.

UM carries a 10-match winning streak into Friday’s matchup with the Demon Deacons. The `Canes downed Wake Forest, 7-0, in the home finale in Coral Gables on Apr. 5. This will be the first time the two teams are meeting in a postseason match.

Live stats for Friday’s match can be viewed by clicking here, while the match will be streamed live via ACC Select at www.ACCselect.com.

UM is this year’s top seed after finishing the ACC season tied with Duke atop the regular season standings. However, UM earned the No. 1 seed after claiming a 5-2 head-to-head victory over the Blue Devils in Coral Gables on Mar. 22.

Head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, in her eighth season in Coral Gables, just completed the best regular season slate of her career with the 21 victories. For that honor, she was awarded on Thursday with the 2009 ACC Coach of the Year award. It was the first of its kind for Yaroshuk-Tews, the all-time winningest coach in UM women’s tennis history with 156 career wins.

Collecting All-ACC honors for UM were Julia Cohen, Laura Vallverdu, Bianca Eichkorn and Michaela Kissell. UM placed the most student-athletes on this year’s team with four, while Vallverdu is picking up her third consecutive All-ACC accolade.

The `Canes are led in part by Julia Cohen who holds an impressive 15-match winning streak, and finished the year with an unblemished 11-0 ACC mark in the No. 1 singles spot–the only player in the league to do so. Among Cohen’s victories in her current streak, a straight-set defeat of this year’s ACC Player of the Year, Ani Mijacika of Clemson. Cohen is currently ranked No. 4 in the Campbell’s/ITA singles poll, and holds an overall record of 27-4 on the year.

In doubles play, Cohen teams with Bianca Eichkorn as the two hold an impressive 10-1 record, while they rank No. 51 in the national doubles poll. They play together at the No. 2 doubles position.

Also playing well for UM and collecting her third All-ACC honor is Laura Vallverdu. Vallverdu is ranked No. 25 in the nation, and holds a record of 22-7 on the year. In the spring, the Valencia, Venezuela native is 20-4 (9-2 ACC). She has been a consistent source of points for UM at the No. 2 position. When Vallverdu wins her matches at the No. 2 slot, the Hurricanes are a perfect 19-0. She is riding a six-match winning streak into this weekend’s championships with three of those wins coming against nationally-ranked opponents, including a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Duke’s 23rd-ranked Ellah Nze (also present on this year’s All-ACC Team).

Vallverdu and teammate Michaela Kissell are ranked No. 13 in this week’s doubles poll. Together they have helped to gather six-straight victories at the top doubles position for the `Canes. They hold a record of 13-5 on the season, and a 10-5 record for the spring, while holding a 7-4 mark against nationally ranked competitors.

Bianca Eichkorn (No. 30) is another consistent source of points for UM, and is riding the best sophomore season in school history with a team-best 35-6 record for the year. Eichkorn just earned her first All-ACC honor, and is currently tied for fifth place all-time at UM for single season victories. She needs just three more wins to move into sole possession of third place–sitting behind greats such as Megan Bradley (2004-05) and 2007 NCAA Champion Audra Cohen (2006-07).

Michaela Kissell holds a record of 32-7 this year, and is the second UM performer on this year’s squad to eclipse the 30-win plateau. The sophomore enters the weekend matching Eichkorn with an equally impressive 10-win streak. Kissell is ranked No. 50 nationally, and finished the regular season 10-1 in the ACC. Alongside Eichkorn, she has split time at the third and fourth singles slot, boasting a perfect 8-0 mark at the No. 3 position.

Kissell has teamed with Laura Vallverdu and Bianca Eichkorn in doubles play, holding a 28-12 overall mark. Kissell has spent the majority of her spring season with Vallverdu, collecting a six-match winning streak heading into the ACC Championships.

Throughout their tenure in the ACC, Miami has failed to win an opening round match just once (2007). UM holds an ACC Championships record of 6-4 since 2005. Last season, the `Canes fell to Florida State (4-2) before making their third consecutive trip to at least the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships.

The ACC Championships run from Apr. 16-19 at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C. For more information, please log on to www.TheACC.com. Matches can be seen live via ACC Select at www.ACCselect.com.

Miami Earns Top Seed in Tournament…
The University of Miami Hurricanes earned this year’s top seed for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships after posting a record of 10-1 in the league (21-3 overall). Miami tied atop the final regular season poll with Duke, but earned the top seed due to a head-to-head victory over the Blue Devils.

Just Call Her Julia…
It doesn’t matter how you describe sophomore Julia Cohen, just as long as you know her name. She’s called Jay-Flow, J-Co, and a number of other nicknames from the UM crowd on a daily basis while producing a UM dual-best mark of 20-2 on the year–all at the No. 1 spot. She is a two-time ACC Player of the Week, as well as an ACC Player of the Year candidate, currently ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA/Campbell’s singles poll. No matter what you call her, Julia Cohen is “The Name Everyone Knows.”

Spring Cleaning at Home…
The Hurricanes completed a perfect regular season at home last Sunday with a 7-0 defeat of No. 34 Wake Forest. Miami ended the 2009 regular season portion of the schedule at 14-0 inside the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. That streak actually stands at 16 matches dating back to the 2008 NCAA Regional [Coral Gables]. The last time UM went unbeaten during the regular season at home was during the 2005 campaign when they ended the slate 11-0.

Looking Ahead, but Certainly Not Past…
If the `Canes are successful in their opening-round matchup against Wake Forest, they could play Georgia Tech–barring the Yellow Jackets defeat the winner of the Florida State/NC State match. The only blemish on this year’s ACC schedule for the `Canes was to Georgia Tech on Mar. 7, their last loss. UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews has yet to defeat Bryan Shelton in her career in Coral Gables, and the Hurricanes are not looking past Wake Forest, but certainly must stay focused on what might indeed be ahead.

Streaking Into Cary…
UM is currently riding a 10-match winning streak into Cary for the first match of the ACC Championships (second round) for the Hurricanes on Friday afternoon. This is the third-longest streak for the Hurricanes under eighth-year head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. The longest for the `Canes was a 16-match streak that stretched from the conclusion of the 2005 ITA Indoor Tournament until a loss at Georgia Tech–a span of 54 days.

A Pocket Full of Singles…
Miami is 123-23 in singles matches on the year, including a 63-7 mark in the last 10 matches–with eight of those matches coming against nationally ranked competition. Miami has claimed a total of nine shutouts this year, and eight more wins coming by a 6-1 decision. In fact, UM ended the regular season with back-to-back-to-back shutout (7-0) victories against NC State, Wake Forest (No. 34) and at Maryland.