No. 11 Miami Meets No. 3 Florida in NCAA Quarterfinals
May 21, 2010
Athens, Ga. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team, the No. 11 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament, is set to face No. 3 seed University of Florida in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, May 22, inside the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at 1 p.m., in Athens, Ga.
Miami (20-5) earned its eighth all-time appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals, and the fourth in the last five years, turning in a 4-1 victory over No. 5 Northwestern on Thursday. After claiming the doubles point early-on, the Hurricanes took three singles lines on the strength of Anna Bartenstein, Laura Vallverdu and Bianca Eichkorn.
The `Canes enter Saturday’s match against the Gators as a winner in four of the last five matches, including a 4-3 win over Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent Duke in Durham a month ago.
Miami’s top three position singles players are ranked in the latest Campbell/ITA poll, using seventh-ranked Laura Vallverdu at the top flight. Vallverdu earned her 31st win of the 2009-10 season in her last match, taking down Northwestern’s 13th-ranked Maria Mosolova in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). Vallverdu continues her assault on the UM women’s tennis record books, now owning a school-record 127 singles wins in her four-year career.
Bianca Eichkorn clinched the match for UM against the Wildcats on Thursday, picking up a 6-2, 7-5 win from 41st-ranked Samantha Murray. Eichkorn, ranked No. 40 in the nation, has won 24 consecutive singles matches dating back to Jan. 17, as part of the Michigan Invitational. She is a perfect 23-0 in the spring, and works with a 28-4 record overall on the year.
Anna Bartenstein is ranked No. 84 for the `Canes, and registered her 30th victory of the 2009-10 season on Thursday, posting a 6-2, 6-4 win over the `Cats Lauren Lui at the No. 3 line. In the spring, Bartenstein carries a record of 20-4, while sitting with a 30-6 overall record for the campaign. Fellow sophomore Gabriela Mejia is also ranked in singles play, sitting at No. 113, and sporting a record of 28-4 overall (22-2 in the spring).
In doubles play, Miami’s top tandem of Gabriela Mejia and Laura Vallverdu rank No. 6 in the ITA poll. The tandem owns a record of 25-5 overall on the year, and sports a spring performance of 14-3. Currently, the duo has won 11 consecutive matches at the No. 1 position.
The other doubles team ranked for UM is Anna Bartenstein and Bianca Eichkorn, sitting at No. 36 in the latest poll. The duo totes a record of 18-3 overall into Saturday’s match, including a 14-1 record in the spring. Together, they have pulled together 10-straight wins at the No. 2 spot for the `Canes.
The University of Florida (27-2) is seeded No. 3 in this year’s tournament, while also ranked No. 3 nationally in the Campbell/ITA poll. The Gators earned a trip into the NCAA Quarterfinals after taking down Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent Ole Miss on Thursday, 4-1.
The University of Georgia, home of the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame, plays host for this year’s NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, running May 20 through May 31.
There will be links to live scoring and live video of each match played at the NCAA Tournament Central page here: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/c-tennis/champpage/c-tennis-div1-index.html. That also includes live video of each match of the singles and doubles tournaments. If rain forces play to move indoors, then there will not be live video, and only live scoring.
About the Florida Gators…
Entering with a record of 27-2 on the year, the Gators won their 20th consecutive match and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 24th time in the 29-year history of the event, defeating Ole Miss by a 4-1 count. The Gators have five players ranked in the ITA singles poll, including freshman Allie Will, ranked No. 8 nationally. Just behind her is classmate Lauren Embree at No. 9. Florida’s success also relies upon the play of 2009 ITA All-American senior Marrit Boonstra, an NCAA Singles Tournament quarterfinalist from a season ago.
In doubles competition, Florida uses the nation’s fifth-ranked team of Boonstra and Will at the No. 1 line. Following them as a ranked team is Lauren Embree and Joanna Mather, playing their matches at the No. 2 position.
Series versus Florida…
The series between the Hurricanes and Gators belongs to the Florida by a 33-22 count. The Gators have won the last two meetings in the series. However, the last time the two met in the NCAA Tournament, Miami turned in a 4-3 triumph in the opening-round of the Gainesville Regional.
Last Time against the Gators…
The last time these two teams met was on Feb. 18, 2007, in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators, ranked No. 4 at the time, grabbed a 4-3 decision from the `Canes, who then embarked upon a seven-match win streak following the loss. Audra Cohen, the 2007 NCAA Singles Champion, was on that team for UM, as well as current Hurricanes Laura Vallverdu and Claudia Wasilewski.
Did You Know?…
Miami is making its 25th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season? The Hurricanes tote a record of 35-24 into the NCAA Quarterfinals in Athens, Ga., including runner-up appearances in 1985 and 2006, respectively. Miami has been in the tournament the following years: 1982, `83, `84, `85, `86, `87, `88, `89, `91, `92, `96, `97, `98, `99, 2000, `01, `02, `03, `04, `05, `06, `07, ’08, ’09 and, ultimately, 2010.
UM Versus Top 30 Opponents…
Miami enters the NCAA Tournament [Quarterfinals] boasting a 9-5 record against teams ranked in the Top 30 of this year’s Campbell’s/ITA poll. The Hurricanes have also claimed two wins over teams ranked in the Top 5 nationally at the time they met. UM has laid claim to wins over teams ranked in the Top 10 every year since 2003, including an upset of top-ranked Florida in 2004 as part of the NCAA Tournament [Gainesville Regional].
