No. 6 Miami Eases Past Virginia Tech Sunday in Blacksburg
March 27, 2011
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The sixth-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team improved to 5-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 6-1 victory over Virginia Tech Sunday at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
The win moved the Hurricanes 2011 mark to 13-4 overall while Virginia Tech dropped to 9-9 overall and 1-4 in ACC play with the loss.
For the first time all season, Miami dropped the doubles point prior to winning all six singles matches. The Hokies grabbed the early momentum with an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles followed by an 8-4 win at No.3.
But once singles play got underway, it was all Miami.
Thirty-ninth ranked Anna Bartenstein tied the match up with an easy 6-2, 6-0 win over Martha Blakely at No. 2. That set up a string of victories for UM that would carry through the rest of the afternoon.
Miami’s first lead then came when Brittany Dubins won a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Emily Lauten at No. 6. That was followed up by wins for sixth-ranked Bianca Eichkorn at No. 1, 85th-ranked Kayla Rizzolo at No. 3, Melissa Bolivar at No. 5 and Gabriela Mejia at No. 4.
Eichkorn’s victory over Yazmin Hamza in the top spot improved her record to 26-6 overall, 15-2 in dual match play and a perfect 6-0 against ACC opponents.
For the second straight day, Rizzolo won it for the ‘Canes as her come-from-behind 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Tea Ivanovic proved to be the game winner. A day earlier, Rizzolo led UM to a 4-3 win over No. 17 Virginia with a win at No. 4 in the deciding match.
The win for Bolivar was her second of the weekend. She beat Isel Martinez-Marcos, 6-2, 7-6 on Sunday, a day after picking up a win at No. 6 against UVa.
Miami will return to the courts this weekend when they welcome Wake Forest and NC State to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The ‘Canes will play the Demon Deacons Friday at 3 p.m. and the Wolfpack on Sunday at noon.
For additional coverage on the UM women’s tennis team, visit TheUTennis.com.
Miami 6, Virginia Tech 1
Singles
1. No. 6 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Yazmin Hamza (VT), 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 39 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. Martha Blakely (VT), 6-2, 6-0
3. No. 85 Kayla Rizzolo (UM) def. Tea Ivanovic (VT), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Holly Johnson (VT), 7-6, 6-4
5. Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Isel Martinez-Marcos (VT), 6-2, 7-6
6. Brittany Dubins (UM) def. Emily Lauten (VT), 6-0, 6-3
Order to finish: 2, 6, 1, 3, 5, 4
Doubles
1. No. 13 Bartenstein/Eichkorn (UM) def. Hamza/Johnson (VT), 8-5
2. Blakely/Rauscher (VT) def. Bolivar/Mejia (UM), 8-3
3. Betts/Blow (VT) def. Dubins/Mills (UM), 8-4
Order to finish: 2, 3, 1
