No. 10 Miami Women's Tennis to Face Maryland
April 8, 2010
Complete Match Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – The No. 10 University of Miami women’s tennis team will pay tribute to two seniors for “Senior Appreciation Day” when facing ACC foe Maryland on Fri., Apr. 9, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center at Noon in Coral Gables, Fla. This is the last regular season home match for the Hurricanes, and admission is free.
Miami (15-3, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) enters the match riding a 12-match winning streak, collecting nine wins against nationally ranked opponents during that span. Additionally, Miami has won 17 consecutive regular season matches against ACC opponents dating back to Mar. 8, 2009.
Prior to the match, Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews and her staff will honor seniors Claudia Wasilewski and Laura Vallverdu. Wasilewski has collected 20-win seasons over her last two years for UM, and is currently tied for 23rd all-time at UM for career singles wins, holding a record of 70-36. As for Vallverdu, the three-time All-American, three-time All-ACC performer, and three-time All-ACC Academic performer is the school’s all-time leader in singles wins, holding 123 wins in her four-year career in Coral Gables. She enters Friday’s match just three wins shy of becoming the first player in UM women’s tennis history to collect at least 30 wins four consecutive years.
Aside from Vallverdu, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the Campbell/ITA singles poll, Miami uses All-American junior Bianca Eichkorn to score wins at either the No. 2 or No. 3 position in singles play. Eichkorn is ranked No. 33 in this week’s ITA singles poll, and sits at a perfect 15-0 in the spring, riding a 16-match win streak dating back to the fall. On the year, Eichkorn is 22-4.
Vallverdu leads the `Canes with 27 wins, sitting 27-9 on the year (15-3 dual). Sophomore Anna Bartenstein is ranked No. 71 this week, and is second on the team in total wins, owning a record of 26-4 (16-2 dual). Bartenstein has won six-straight matches entering Friday’s contest, and is 9-1 in her last 10. Rounding out the ranked players this week for UM is sophomore Gabriela Mejia, ranked No. 100 this week, sporting a record of 23-3 overall (17-1 dual). Mejia’s 17 singles wins in the spring is the most on this year’s squad.
Maryland comes into the match on a four-match losing skid, and sits 3-9 overall (0-7 ACC). The Terrapins are under the direction of first-year head coach Howard Joffe, while being assisted by Dianne Matias, both University of Southern California alumni. The Terrapins start four underclassmen in singles competition, three of which are freshmen. They are still searching for their first ACC win of the season. Maryland is also trying to find its rhythm against ranked opponents, but has been able to post wins over Delaware and Columbia, respectively.
The Terrapins have only traveled three times during the spring, and have looked more comfortable at home at The Tennis Center at College Park. Maryland boasts two-time All-ACC academic honoree Maggie MacKeever. MacKeever, who has played in the first and second positions in the spring, has matched up against six ranked opponents in that span and brings valuable experience to a match with a Hurricanes team that has four players ranked by the ITA.
Miami leads the all-time series against the Terrapins by a 6-0 count, including a 7-0 sweep of the Terps last year in College Park.
Following the match against Maryland, Miami will travel for its final two ACC regular season matches against North Carolina and Duke. The `Canes will travel to UNC on Sat., Apr. 17, before traveling down Highway 55 to nearby Durham for a match with last year’s NCAA Champion Duke Blue Devils on Sun., Apr. 18. The match against UNC is scheduled for 11 a.m., while the match against Duke is set for 1 p.m.
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