Miami Drops NCAA Quarterfinal Match to Top-Ranked Florida

STANFORD, Calif. – The fifth-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team was eliminated from the NCAA Team Championships on Sunday in a 4-1 loss to top-ranked Florida in quarterfinal round at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.

The Hurricanes closed out their 2011 season with an overall record of 21-7. The `Elite Eight’ appearance was Miami’s third in a row and its fourth in the last five seasons.

“I’m not happy with today’s result but I am happy with how far this team has come,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We have three freshmen playing in the lineup today, getting to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and pushing a team like Florida.

“We still have a lot of improvement and we can still get so much better,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We are mentally tough but you have to give credit to Florida.”

In a match that was much closer than the score indicated, Miami fell behind 3-0 but held late leads in the remaining four singles positions at Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

With the season on the brink, Gabriela Mejia gave the Canes what proved to be their only point of the afternoon, pulling away from Sofie Oyen for a 7-6 (1), 6-1 win at No. 3 to start Miami’s late rally attempt.

In the meantime, Anna Bartenstein was up a set  and tied in the second at No. 2, while Kayla Rizzolo and Danielle Mills both held close leads mid-way through in their third sets at No. 4 and No. 5.

But the Gators (29-1) fought back and took one-game leads in both spots. Mills and Rizzolo battled to stay alive and keep the season going, but Alex Cercone closed the match out with a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 win over Mills to send the Gators into the semifinal round.

“I thought we played good first sets at four and five, just hitting shots and not really thinking,” Yaroshuk-Tews said.  “You can’t expect a team like Florida not to come out of the gates strong in the second set, changing things up. One set is great, but one set is not a match. You have to be able to keep that momentum going in the second set. Momentum changes against a team like this, with a crowd like this.”

If Mills had been able to even her third set at 6-6, Rizzolo was a point away from going five-all to keep the match going.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Despite a strong comeback attempt at No. 3, Miami dropped the doubles point to the Gators to open the match. UF quickly grabbed the second position and while Miami had control at No. 1 up 7-5, it was clear the point was coming down to No. 3. There, Mills and Brittany Dubins fell behind 7-3 but won the next games to tighten things up, but UF prevailed 8-5 to take the early lead.

Florida  then expanded its lead to 2-0 and then 3-0 when singles play got underway, as Olivia Janowicz took down Melissa Bolivar at No. 6 right before seventh-ranked Allie Will beat sixth-ranked Bianca Eichkorn, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1.

Attention for the Hurricanes will now turn to the NCAA individual championships, where Eichkorn and Bartenstein with both compete in the singles and doubles brackets. The seeding has yet to be announced, but play is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday, May 25.

For additional coverage of the UM women’s tennis team, visit TheUTennis.com.