Women's Tennis Ends Season with Three All-America Picks
June 7, 2010
Skillman, N.J. – University of Miami women’s tennis student-athletes Laura Vallverdu (S), Bianca Eichkorn (S) and Gabriela Mejia (D), have been selected to the 2010 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America Team for Division I, released Mon., June 7, in conjunction with the season-ending Campbell/ITA national singles and doubles rankings from the ITA headquarters in Skillman, N.J.
Earning her fourth consecutive ITA singles All-America award is senior Laura Vallverdu (Valencia, Venezuela). Miami’s all-time leader in singles victories (131), advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament – after finishing the 2009 season as the NCAA Singles Runner-up. For Vallverdu, she ended the 2009-10 season with a team-leading 35 singles wins, and finishes the campaign at 35-13 overall. She completed the dual season at 19-6, all at the No. 1 line, and ended the campaign 21-12 against nationally ranked opponents.
In the process, she becomes Miami’s first four-time All-American since Ronni Reis (1985-88) – now the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Michigan, and just the fourth player in school history to achieve the honor. She is the first player to do so under the guise of ninth-year women’s tennis head coach at UM, Paige Yaroshuk-Tews.
Vallverdu also earned All-America honors alongside sophomore Gabriela Mejia on the doubles side of things, after the two advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament. In their first year together on the courts, the duo strung together a record of 27-6 overall – while also turning in a 14-3 mark at the No. 1 position in dual play. For Mejia, the All-America award is the first in her young career.
The final Hurricanes performer collecting All-America honors, and for the second consecutive season, is junior Bianca Eichkorn – who finished the year advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament. Eichkorn completed her junior season with a record of 31-5, and now holds the third-longest singles winning streak in school history – registering 27 consecutive wins from Jan. 17 through her NCAA Singles Quarterfinals match on May 29.
In the final Campbell/ITA singles poll, Miami’s Vallverdu ended the season fourth, serving as the highest singles ranking for Vallverdu in her career. After finishing as a finalist for the NCAA Singles title in 2009, she ended the year 10th in the Campbell/ITA poll. In doubles play, the Mejia/Vallverdu connection finished the season ranking seventh.
In all, a total of 17 student-athletes from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) picked up All-America honors on the men’s and women’s side of the ITA.
A player must meet any of the following criteria to earn ITA All-America honors:
Singles
1.) Top 16 seed in NCAA Singles Championships, or;
2.) Reach round of 16 in NCAA Singles Championships, or;
3.) Finish in the Top 20 of the final ITA Rankings.
Doubles
1.) Top eight seed in NCAA Doubles Championships, or;
2.) Reach quarterfinals of NCAA Doubles Championship, or;
3.) Finish in Top 10 of final ITA Rankings
For a complete list of this year’s ITA All-Americans, as well as the final Campbell/ITA rankings, please visit www.itatennis.com.
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.
