No. 12 Miami Remains Atop ACC with Dominant Win at No. 11 Clemson
March 6, 2011
CLEMSON, S.C. – The 12th-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team remained undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 6-1 win at No. 11 Clemson Sunday afternoon at the Clemson Indoor Tennis Center.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 10-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 in ACC play with all three league wins coming against Top 25 opponents.
Miami entered the week with the prospects of facing No. 4 Michigan, No. 21 Georgia Tech and No. 11 Clemson in a span of five days. They ended the week a perfect 3-0 with three more resumé-building wins to their credit.
“Without a doubt this was the best fight we’ve ever put up,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Given the obstacles that were thrown at us today, I’m really proud of the intelligence and fight our girls showed out there.”
The Hurricanes continued their recent success in doubles play, winning all three matches to take a 1-0 lead. The 27th-ranked tandem of Bianca Eichkorn and Anna Bartenstein started things out with an 8-4 win at No. 1 before Melissa Bolivar and Gabriela Mejia secured the point with an 8-3 win at No. 2.
When singles play got underway, 75th-ranked Bartenstein beat 58th-ranked Keri Wong, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 to put the `Canes up 2-0. Bolivar followed that up with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 over Maria Belaya before Clemson earned what would prove to be its only point with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 3.
The rest of the way went the way of UM. Freshman Brittany Dubins clinched the win for Miami with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 before Mejia earned a win at No. 5 and 10th-ranked Eichkorn closed out the day with a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over 15th-ranked Josipa Bek in the top singles spot.
“The match at No. 1 was one of the Top 5 tennis matches I have ever been a part of,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Yet again, Bianca proved today she is one of the best players in the country.”
The `Canes win over the Tigers (10-5, 0-2 ACC) on Sunday was their eighth against a ranked opponent this season. For the second straight day, the ‘Canes played indoors due to inclement weather in the Southeast.
“It was us against the world today and we kept calm, kept our poise and really proved what we are made of,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “These kids really turned the corner this week. I was so impressed with the way they battled for every point in a tough setting.”
Miami will face yet another tough stretch coming up this week with a home match against No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday followed up by a road trip to Texas next weekend to face No. 75 TCU and No. 5 Baylor.
Visit HurricaneSports.com.HurricaneSports.com for live scoring for Sunday’s match. For additional coverage of the UM women’s tennis team, visit TheUTennis.com.
No. 12 Miami (10-2, 3-0 ACC) def. No. 11 Clemson (10-5, 0-2 ACC), 6-1
March 6, 2011 – Clemson Indoor Tennis Center
Singles
1. #10 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. #15 Josipa Bek (CU), 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2. #75 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. #58 Keri Wong (CU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) def. Danielle Mills (UM), 6-3, 7-5
4. Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Maria Belaya (CU), 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Caroline Magnusson (CU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Brittany Dubins (UM) def. Laurianne Henry (CU), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 6*, 5, 1
Doubles
1. #27 Bartenstein/Eichkorn (UM) def. Belaya/Wong (CU), 8-4
2. Bolivar/Mejia(UM) def. Bek/Magnusson (CU), 8-3
3. Dubins/Mills (UM) def. Ciolkowski/Henry (CU), 8-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
