Four `Canes Garner ITA Preseason Women's Tennis Rankings
Sept. 10, 2010
SKILLMAN, N.J. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team will enter the 2010-11 season with four nationally ranked student-athletes, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Assocation on Friday. Bianca Eichkorn headlined the group of `Canes recognized in the Campbell/ ITA preseason rankings, as the senior will enter the season ranked No. 14 nationally in singles play.
Eichkorn is joined in the singles rankings by juniors Anna Bartenstein and Gabriela Mejia, who are ranked No. 53 and No. 83 respectively.
The `Canes also have a pair of doubles teams in the rankings, coming in at back-to-back spots in the Top 20. Eichkorn and Bartenstein garnered the No. 16 ranking, while the pair of Mejia and sophomore Danielle Mills ranks one spot back of their teammates at No. 17.
Last season, Eichkorn, Mejia and Laura Vallverdu earned All-America honors for the Hurricanes. Vallverdu, who closed out her career as the winningest women’s tennis player in UM history, earned her fourth singles All-America honor. Eichkorn’s All-America honor was her second, while Mejia was a first-time honoree in doubles action playing alongside Vallverdu.
The nation’s top collegiate women’s tennis players are slated to compete in The Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships beginning Oct. 2 at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Eichkorn is a main draw selection in both singles and doubles, teaming with Bartenstein, who will play singles in the qualifying round. Mejia is an alternative for qualifiers and a pre-qualifying selection in singles play, while she will team with freshman Kayla Rizzolo in qualifying doubles competition. Rizzolo is also a singles alternate for the pre-qualifying round.
Complete Campbell/ITA College Rankings and men’s and women’s ITA All-American Championship selections can be found at www.itatennis.com.
For more information on the Miami women’s tennis program, including the team’s recently released 2010-11 schedule, visit www.HurricaneSports.com. The `Canes will open their 2010 fall season with the UM Fall Invitational beginning Friday, Sept. 24 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
