Women's Tennis Concludes Homestand with Virginia, Brown
March 27, 2010
Complete Match Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – The No. 11 University of Miami women’s tennis team is set to host the final two matches of its current four-match homestand, beginning on Sun., Mar. 28, at 10 a.m. The Hurricanes will host the University of Virginia at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, followed by Brown University on Tues., Mar. 30, at 2 p.m.
Miami (11-3, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) enters the final stretch of the homestand having taken victories in the last eight matches, and have outscored opponents by a combined 46-8 advantage during that span. Those wins include six matches against nationally ranked competition, as well as five top 50 opponents.
Against Brown University, the Hurricanes will wear pink uniforms in honor of breast cancer awareness. The match, and day as a whole, is being billed as Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Pink “U” Tennis shirts will be available with any minimum donation of $10. The jerseys worn by the Hurricanes women’s tennis team will be auctioned off online, with those proceeds also benefitting breast cancer research and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Before that match, however, the Hurricanes will have to take on the University of Virginia. The University of Virginia enters Sunday’s match with a 10-4 overall mark, after suffering the first ACC loss of the season on Fri., Mar. 26, at Florida State in Tallahassee. The Cavaliers won five-of-six first set singles matches, but were unable to hold the momentum in the end against the Seminoles.
Though being ranked No. 30 as a team nationally, Virginia has just one player ranked in the latest singles poll, using the strength of Lindsey Hardenbergh at the top flight position. Overall, the Cavs have won three of their last five matches, including ACC wins against in-state opponent Virginia Tech and Maryland.
Miami owns a 10-3 record all-time against the University of Virginia, and has won the last three consecutive matches. During her tenure in Coral Gables, UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews holds a 7-1 all-time record against the Cavaliers.
The Hurricanes use four players ranked in the Campbell/ITA singles poll, as well as two doubles pairs.
UM is led by the school’s all-time leader in singles wins, Vallverdu, who has collected a record of 119-30 lifetime in Coral Gables. On the year, she totes a record of 23-9 (11-3 dual). She is currently ranked No. 7 in the ITA poll, while teammate Bianca Eichkorn is No. 33 this week. Eichkorn holds a record of 19-4 on the year, and is the only Hurricanes performer still perfect in the spring (14-0). Eichkorn now holds a career record of 88-21, and sits eighth all-time at UM for career singles wins.
Also ranked for UM is the sophomore tandem of Anna Bartenstein (No. 62) and Gabriela Mejia (No. 107). Bartenstein is 22-4 on the year (12-2 dual), and has collected wins in nine of her last 10 matches. Mejia counters with a record of 19-3 (13-1 dual), and has been a consistent source of points for UM at the No. 5 single spot on the court. She enters Sunday’s match against the Cavaliers seeking back-to-back 20-win campaigns.
Miami’s doubles team of Mejia and Vallverdu enters the stretch ranked No. 7 nationally, while having taken a victory in their last match together. Overall, the team is 15-5 (4-3 dual), and sees action at the No. 1 doubles position. The team of Eichkorn and Bartenstein is ranked No. 64 in the poll, and uses a record of 10-3 overall (6-1 dual) at the No. 2 spot for the `Canes.
Brown enters Tuesday’s match as a winner in the last five matches the Bears have stepped onto the courts for. The Bears are ranked No. 63 nationally, and hold a 12-3 overall record for the year. Brown sophomore Cassandra Herzberg is a native of Miami Beach, Fla., and senior Tanja Vucetic is a fellow south Florida native, raised in Aventura.
In the Bears’ current five-match win streak, they have taken down opponents from Stony Brook, Buffalo, Massachusetts, Western Michigan and Lipscomb. The last setback for Brown was a 5-2 defeat to then-24th ranked Vanderbilt.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Brown and Miami on the tennis courts in women’s play. However, the last match for UM against an Ivy League school occurred last season during the NCAA Tournament [Coral Gables Regional] where the `Canes collected a win over Princeton.
Following the match against Brown University, the Hurricanes will next travel to ACC opponent NC State on Fri., Apr. 2, at Noon in Raleigh, N.C. After that, UM has little time to rest, as the `Canes will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., facing Wake Forest the following day at Noon.
Admission to both matches, as well as all regular season home matches at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, are free. Live results/scoring for all home women’s tennis matches is available by clicking here.
