No. 3 Miami Women's Tennis Wins First of Two in Texas
March 12, 2011
FORT WORTH, Texas – The third-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team improved to 11-3 with a 4-3 win over TCU Saturday afternoon at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
The Hurricanes opened the match winning the doubles point before claiming singles wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 to clinch the victory. Gabriela Mejia’s 7-5, 6-3 win over Idunn Hertzberg in the fifth position clinched the match for the `Canes.
Play opened with the `Canes taking all three doubles matches, winning 8-1 at No. 3, 8-6 at No. 2 and eventually 8-7 at No. 1.
Anna Bartenstein then made it 2-0 Miami with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Katariina Tuohimaa in the No. 2 singles spot. The win was the sixth straight for Bartenstein, who is currently ranked 75th nationally by the ITA.
TCU (2-6) earned its first point of the day when Federica Denti earned a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 over Danielle Mills, but Miami moved back ahead by two again with 10th-ranked Bianca Eichkorn’s 6-2, 6-2 win over Olivia Smith in the top singles position.
The Horned Frogs pulled to within one again moments later, as Shalini Sahoo picked up a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brittany Dubins at No. 6, but Mejia’s win at No. 5 gave the `Canes the match-clinching point.
Having already clinched the win, Miami dropped the final singles spot at No. 4.
“I think our energy and effort at multiple positions was the worst I’ve seen all season,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I’m disappointed in quite a few spots for the lack of preparation and the lack of effort I saw out there today.
“We are all allowed to have off days as tennis players, but it is unacceptable to be taking days off as competitors,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Today really put a few questions in my head.”
TCU was just the third unranked team Miami has played this season. The Hurricanes’ won the other two matches against FAU (Jan. 21) and UCF (Feb. 27) by 7-0 decisions.
The `Canes will remain in Texas for a match against No. 7 Baylor on Monday at 1 p.m. EST in Waco.
Live results for the match against the Bears will available at HurricaneSports.com. For additional coverage of UM’s women’s tennis team, visit www.TheUTennis.com.
No. 3 Miami 4, TCU 3
Singles
1. #10 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Olivia Smith (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. #75 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Federica Denti (TCU) def. Danielle Mills (UM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Melissa Bolivar (UM) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3)
5. Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Shalini Sahoo (TCU) def. Brittany Dubins (UM) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1. #27 Anna Bartenstein/Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Federica Denti/Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) 8-7 (7-5)
2. Melissa Bolivar/Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Gaby Mastromarino/Olivia Smith (TCU) 8-6
3. Brittany Dubins/Danielle Mills (UM) def. Maria Babanova/Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 8-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,3,1,6,5,4)
