Miami Women's Tennis defeats TCU, 7-0
March 15, 2010
Coral Gables, Fla. – No. 18 Miami (8-3) looked strong in clinching the doubles point, and secured all six spots in singles play, to collect a 7-0 victory over visiting No. 72 TCU (1-10) on Monday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla. For the Hurricanes, this marked their fifth straight win, and their third consecutive by a 7-0 margin.
Miami kicked off the day with its doubles pair of Gabriela Mejia and Danielle Mills taking down Nina Munch-Soegaard and Maria Babanova in the No. 2 spot. The Hurricanes’ team of Bianca Eichkorn and Laura Vallverdu followed that up on court one, earning an 8-1 triumph over the Horned Frogs’ Katariina Tuohimaa and Kayla Duncan at one doubles.
Mejia and Mills remain perfect together on the year, improving to 4-0, while the team of Eichkorn and Vallverdu raised its record to 3-1 – winning three consecutive at this point.
The final doubles match was taken by the Hurricanes’ Anna Bartenstein and Claudia Wasilewski at the third spot, turning in an 8-5 defeat of Gaby Mastromarino and Idunn Hertzberg. Together, Bartenstein and Wasilewski are 5-1 on the year after dropping their first match together back in the fall.
Miami began things quickly in singles play, as senior Claudia Wasilewski earned her third straight win after TCU’s Gaby Mastromarino was forced to retire with an injury. Wasilewski won 6-0, 4-1, ret. – giving UM a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Hurricanes’ Laura Vallverdu (No. 4) was next off the courts as she collected a 6-3, 6-1 victory from the Horned Frogs’ Nina Munch-Soegaard (No. 94) on court one. Vallverdu, a three-time All-American, improved to 21-8 with the win, and upped her spring record to 9-2. Vallverdu was followed by sophomore Gabriela Mejia improving to 16-3 on the season (10-1 dual) by virtue of a 6-3, 6-0 defeat of TCU’s Maria Babanova at the No. 5 spot. In the process, Mejia gave UM the match victory.
“This was a good win against a good TCU team,” stated UM women’s head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “Everyone was accountable for their point, and that’s what we wanted them to focus on against a good team, and getting ready for a good Florida State team on Friday. Everyone needs to be responsible for their own point, and they did that today.”
All-American junior Bianca Eichkorn (No. 40) stepped off the courts next for UM, as she registered a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kayla Duncan (No. 110) of the Horned Frogs at the second position. Eichkorn grabbed her 16th win of the season, and moved to 11-0 on the spring. She has won 12 consecutive matches dating back to the fall, where most of her tournament season was shortened due to recovery from surgery.
It was freshman Danielle Mills raising the Hurricanes’ advantage to 6-0 in the match after posting a three-set victory over Idunn Hertzberg at the No. 4 position. Mills took the win on a 7-6(4), 3-6, 10-1 line, improving to 13-8 overall, and 8-2 in the spring.
The final match took place at the No. 3 spot, as Miami sophomore Anna Bartenstein (No. 55) took down TCU’s Katariina Tuohimaa (No. 86) courtesy a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 advantage. Bartenstein won her first three-set match at home this season, having lost her only other to Baylor, and upped her record to 20-3 on the year (10-1 dual). She has now won seven consecutive matches, and is 9-1 in her last 10. She also eclipses the .500 mark against nationally ranked opponents, improving to 3-2 on the slate.
“Anna [Bartenstein] is doing what we’re asking her to do right now,” said Yaroshuk-Tews. “She’s listening to what we’re telling her each day in practice, and she’s implementing it on the court. She’s doing what we teach her, and for Anna – that’s huge. She’s buying into the system, and obviously it’s showing the right type of results for her and this program.”
The Hurricanes return to the court Fri., Mar. 19, when they travel to ACC and in-state opponent Florida State for a key conference match with the Seminoles in Tallahassee. Following the match with FSU, Miami returns home for the first of four consecutive matches at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Wed., Mar. 24, when UM hosts Georgia Tech at 1 p.m.
Admission to all UM home matches throughout the regular season is free.
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.
No. 18 Miami 7, No. 72 TCU 0
Singles
1. #4 Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. #94 Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) 6-3, 6-1
2. #40 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. #110 Kayla Duncan (TCU) 6-1, 6-1
3. #55 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. #86 Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) 6-3, 3-6, 10-7
4. Danielle Mills (UM) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 10-1
5. Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Maria Babanova (TCU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) 6-0, 4-1, retired
Order of Finish: (6, 1, 5*, 2, 4, 3)
Doubles
1. Bianca Eichkorn/Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Katariina Tuohimaa/Kayla Duncan (TCU) 8-1
2. Gabriela Mejia/Danielle Mills (UM) def. Nina Munch-Soegaard/Maria Babanova (TCU) 8-3
3. Anna Bartenstein/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Gaby Mastromarino/Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 8-5
Order of Finish: (2, 1*, 3)
