Canes Eliminated From NCAA Singles Championship
May 26, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. – University of Miami women’s tennis players Anna Bartenstein and Bianca Eichkorn were eliminated from the NCAA Singles Championships after both suffered first round losses to Top 20 opponents Wednesday at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
After a rain delay pushed play back a few hours, 36th-ranked Bartenstein fell to Northwestern’s 10th-ranked Maria Mosolova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Later that night in the last match to start in the Round of 64, sixth-ranked Eichkorn dropped a tight two-set match, 7-5, 6-4 to Florida’s Lauren Embree.
“We had a tough day today but those were two of the toughest first round opponents we’ve gone up against in my time as a head coach,” UM head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Regardless of today’s results, I’m really proud of these two girls in how hard they have worked, how far they have come and how much they meant to our team’s success this season.”
As a team, the Hurricanes reached their third straight NCAA quarterfinal and fourth in the last five seasons. And while team and singles play is over for UM, Bartenstein and Eichkorn still have work ahead.
The pair will now turn their attention to the NCAA’s doubles tournament, where they are scheduled to go up against VCU’s Alex Bara and Kateryna Yergina in first round action on Thursday at 5 p.m. PST.
“Bianca and Anna have been playing extremely well together down the stretch and I look for more of the same starting tomorrow,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We still have a lot more to accomplish out here.”
After dropping the first set to Embree, 7-5, Eichkorn battled back early in the second, forcing an early break to go up 3-1. But Embree responded by winning four straight to go up 5-3 and re-gain momentum. From there, Eichkorn would fight off three match points over the next two games but in the end, Embree moved on with the tight two-set win.
Eichkorn – the 2011 ACC Player of the Year – closed out her senior season with an overall record 33-9 and a dual match mark of 22-5. She wrapped up her record-breaking career with a school record 133 career singles victories to just 31 losses.
In Miami’s first match on Wednesday, Bartenstein dropped the first set to Mosolova, 3-6, bounced back with a 6-3 win of her own in the second but momentum in the third went back to the Wildcat, as she claimed a 6-2 win to move on into the Round of 32.
The loss ended Bartenstein’s singles season, as the junior finished the year with a record of 24-7 overall, 19-5 in dual match play and 11-4 against nationally-ranked opponents. Despite the loss on Wednesday, Bartenstein closed out her singles campaign having won 16 of her last 18 matches.
For live scoring of Miami’s doubles matches, click here.
For additional coverage of the Canes at the NCAA Championships, click here.
NCAA Singles Results
Stanford, Calif.
Taube Tennis Center
First Round
#10 Maria Mosolova (NW) def. #36 Anna Bartenstein (UM), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 #17 Lauren Embree (UF) def. #6 Bianca Eichkorn (UM), 7-5, 6-4
