No. 11 Women's Tennis Advances Past Boston University, 4-0

May 14, 2010

Results | Complete Results (PDF)

Coral Gables, Fla. – The 11th-ranked Hurricanes of Miami (18-5) wasted little time advancing to the second round of this year’s NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament on Friday afternoon, claiming a 4-0 victory over Boston University (11-12) in an opening-round match of the Coral Gables Regional played inside the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Miami.

In the second meeting this season between the Hurricanes and Terriers, it was a bit of history that Boston University, members of the America East Conference, played its first and last match of the 2010 spring season against the Hurricanes in Coral Gables as part of a tournament, both matches being opening-round events.

Miami rolled to the doubles point after turning in mirror 8-1 scores in the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, respectively.

“The girls came out firing today,” said UM head women’s tennis coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, now in her ninth season at the helm in Coral Gables. “They looked really fresh, and they really came out and played well. It was nice to see because you never know how a team is going to respond after being off for three weeks. However, I thought they responded well in spite of that fact.”

The Hurricanes’ team of Danielle Mills and Claudia Wasilewski was off the courts first after their 8-1 decision over Boston’s duo of Petra Santini and Inayat Khosla at the No. 3 position. That was followed by the nation’s sixth-ranked tandem of Miami’s Gabriela Mejia and Laura Vallverdu collecting an 8-1 win from BU’s Stefanie Nunic and Vivien Laszloffy at the No. 1 position.

For Mills and Wasilewski, the win was their ninth of the year together, evening their record at 9-9 on the year, and giving them a mark of 6-6 in the spring. As for Mejia and Vallverdu, they marched to their ninth consecutive win, en route to a 23-5 record on the year, as well as a 12-3 record in the spring.

In singles play, Miami sophomore Gabriela Mejia, ranked No. 113 in the country, stepped off the courts first after turning in a 6-0, 6-0 victory over the Terriers’ Monika Mical at the No. 5 position. The win bumped Mejia’s 2009-10 record up to 27-4, while advancing her spring record to a team second-best 21-2. In the process, Mejia has pulled together wins in 16 of her last 17 matches in singles competition.

Freshman Danielle Mills was the next to finish for the `Canes, collecting a 6-0, 6-0 decision from Boston’s Petra Santini at the No. 4 spot. For Mills, the win was the 20th in her rookie season, moving her to 20-13 overall, and out to 15-7 in the spring. Mills becomes the sixth player on this year’s roster of six participating student-athletes to collect a 20-win season.

The match-deciding point was registered by UM’s All-American junior Bianca Eichkorn on the strength of a 6-0, 6-0 win on court two, defeating BU’s Francine Whu. Eichkorn scored her team-leading 23rd consecutive singles victory, keeping her record for the spring clean at 22-0. On the year, Eichkorn moves to 27-4, tied with Mejia for the third-most singles wins on this year’s roster.

The `Canes will try and advance to their fifth consecutive “Sweet 16” appearance on Saturday, taking on the University of South Florida in the Coral Gables Regional title match at 2 p.m. USF, the No. 2 seed in this year’s regional, advanced to the title match by defeating Texas A&M, 4-2, in the day’s opener.

“We’re expecting USF to play a tough match tomorrow, and they’re going to be competitive,” added Yaroshuk-Tews. “We wouldn’t want it any other way before the `Sweet 16′, and the girls are excited about the match and what’s at stake.”

For complete Coral Gables Regional coverage and up-to-date scores/news, please visit the official Coral Gables Regional home page by clicking here. All matches are taking place at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Miami, with ticket prices set at just $5.

No. 11 Miami 4, Boston University 0

Singles
1. #7 Laura Vallverdu (UM) vs. Stefanie Nunic (BU) 6-2, 1-0, unfinished
2. #40 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Francine Whu (BU) 6-0, 6-0
3. #84 Anna Bartenstein (UM) vs. Vivien Laszloffy (BU) 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
4. Danielle Mills (UM) def. Petra Santini (BU) 6-0, 6-0
5. #113 Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Monika Mical (BU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) vs. Jessi Linero (BU) 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
Order of Finish: (5, 4, 2*)

Doubles
1. #6 Gabriela Mejia/Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Stefanie Nunic/Vivien Laszloffy (BU) 8-1
2. #36 Anna Bartenstein/Bianca Eichkorn (UM) vs. Francine Whu/Monika Mical (BU) 7-2, unfinished
3. Danielle Mills/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Petra Santini/Inayat Khosla (BU) 8-1
Order of Finish: (3, 1*)