Miami's Vallverdu to Play for NCAA Women's Singles Championship
May 24, 2009
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College Station, Texas – University of Miami women’s tennis junior Laura Vallverdu took a three-set triumph (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) over Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson on Sunday evening in the semifinal round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. Vallverdu will now play for a chance at the NCAA Singles National Championship on Monday, May 25 at 11 a.m. (CT).
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) will be toting the 2009 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles National Championship away from the “Lone Star” state, but where it goes is to be determined Monday afternoon. The championship match will consist of Duke’s Mallory Cecil and Miami’s Vallverdu. The title will either head back to Coral Gables for the second time in three years, or travel to Durham, N.C. for the first time since 1998.
In the day’s other semifinal women’s match, Cecil earned her trip to the finals against Miami’s No. 1 singles player, Julia Cohen. All-ACC performer and No. 2 seeded Cohen’s championship run ended in the semifinals with a loss at the hands of fifth-seeded Cecil. Cecil opened up the match with an early break, then cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 victor–the third consecutive for Cecil over Cohen.
“Lau is playing the best tennis I’ve ever seen her play,” exclaimed UM eighth-year head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “She’s going to have match on her hands tomorrow with [Mallory] Cecil. But I think if Laura keeps up this level of performance, then she’s got very good shot at winning a national title.”
The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s tennis doubles finals will now be played on Monday, May 25 at 10:00 a.m. (CT) on the grandstand courts (located behind the tennis press box) and the men’s and women’s singles finals will be played at 11:00 a.m. (CT) on the stadium courts, weather permitting. Showers and possible storms are expected in and around the College Station area in the early afternoon hours.
In a rematch from the Round of 16 during the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships back in September 2008, the highly-anticipated matchup between Georgia’s No. 1 singles player and Miami’s No. 2 singles player lived up to the hype. The Georgia freshman was riding high, and entered the match ranked No. 9 nationally (No. 8 seed for the tournament), holding a record of 43-9 on the year–the second-best mark in school history.
Meanwhile, UM’s Vallverdu entered having been forced to three sets in her last three singles wins in the tournament, and held a 32-7 record that included a 16-match winning streak dating back to Mar. 20 in a loss to Katrina Tsang of North Carolina.
Vallverdu opened up the set with an early break of Gullickson; using miscues by the Georgia freshman to sail to a 6-4 win in the opener. Gullickson battled from behind in the second set to claim a hard-fought 7-5 decision, knotting the match at 1-1.
In the third, Gullickson went up, 3-1, before Vallverdu bounced back to claim the next two games and tie things up, 3-3. With the go-ahead game tied at 30-30, the second weather delay in as many days forced the competitors to the locker room for an hour and 43 minutes.
When officials ruled the courts playable and allowed the players to continue the match, Vallverdu committed two costly errors to allow the Bulldogs’ All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) player the lead, 4-3. Vallverdu fell behind Love-40 in the next game, before turning it around to claim the next six consecutive points and tie the match again, 4-4, in the final set.
Vallverdu then commanded the next two games, never trailing en route to a 6-4 decision, and becoming just the second player in school history to advance to the NCAA Championship match. The other, 2007 NCAA Champion Audra Cohen, who is a good friend and mentor, of sorts, to Vallverdu.
“I was just talking about that [down Love-40] with my coach,” stated Vallverdu. “I don’t really know what happened there. She just said I played better than her. I was just trying to play ball-by-ball. I was not aware of what was happening really. I told myself to be in a little bubble and just not even think about what’s happening. I was really just telling myself to keep my emotions and focus on the little yellow thing, the ball.”
When asked about having her junior playing in her fourth consecutive three-set match, Yaroshuk-Tews felt it was more convenient, if the term fits, for Vallverdu than her opponent.
“Fitness wise, Laura is as fresh as can be,” expressed Yaroshuk-Tews. “At the beginning of the team tournament, she was battling a cold, and now she feels great. Physically, she’s not going to have any battles tomorrow, and just feels fresh. Mentally, she’s going to have to stick to the plan tomorrow, and get off to a great start.”
Vallverdu raised her record for the year out to 33-7, and now has amassed 96 career singles wins in her three years in Coral Gables. She now sits sixth all-time at UM in career singles wins, trailing current UM volunteer assistant coach Megan Bradley by just two victories. She also owns a team-best 17-mnatch win streak.
“I had a chance to put it away at 5-4 and I didn’t,” stated Vallverdu. “She played great that second set. She came back with huge balls. I kind of caught myself thinking, `Oh my gosh, I want to be in the finals.’ I guess nerves. I knew it happened yesterday. I started thinking. Right now, I wasn’t even focusing on the score or anybody. I wasn’t even looking at my coaches. I was just like, `Let’s just get it done.'”
Duke’s Mallory Cecil has been dominating opponents in her road to the championship, winning all of her matches in two sets. He closest match was an upset bid by Miami’s All-ACC sophomore Bianca Eichkorn in the Round of 16. Eichkorn battled the Duke freshman to the wire before having her upset bid edged, 6-2, 7-5.
“[Mallory] Cecil has a lot of game, and has been coming to the net quite a bit,” admitted Yaroshuk-Tews. “Laura is coming into the match excited to be playing for a championship as an international player, and to be playing great tennis. She’s coming in looking to have fun, and get a national title under her belt.”
Cohen was just unable to get on track Sunday as Cecil played aggressively for the second time in as many matches against the ACC rivals. Cecil played shots short at the net, and kept the Hurricanes sophomore moving for most of the match, just as she did in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championships on this day a week ago when Duke ended UM’s title run, 4-1.
“Julia Cohen had an amazing year for us, and she was without a doubt a big part of our team success,” expressed Yaroshuk-Tews of her All-ACC performer. “She brought a lot to this program, and was a leader for us playing in that top position. I’m proud of everything she’s done for us this year.”
For Cohen, she ends the year with a record of 33-8 while going 22-8 against nationally ranked competition. The Philadelphia, Pa. native was a two-time ACC Player of the Week, and will earn her first All-America honor following the NCAA Championships on Monday. She also became the first sophomore in UM history to earn a trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championships.
“This program’s really made a statement this year,” said Yaroshuk-Tews of her team’s accomplishments throughout the 2008-09 season. “I think that we’re really starting to build a dynasty, and these kids are starting to build a dynasty. We continue to get better each year, and get looks at a national title, which is our ultimate goal each season.”
For more information on the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles/Doubles Championships, please log on to www.ncaa.com. For information on the official site of the championships, please visit http://www.aggieathletics.com/ncaa2009/tennis/.
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.
