Eichkorn and Bartenstein Earn ITA All-America Honors
June 16, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Bianca Eichkorn and Anna Bartenstein have earned 2011 ITA All-America honors after leading the University of Miami women’s tennis team to its fifth NCAA quarterfinal appearance in the last six seasons.
Eichkorn was recognized in both singles and doubles, while Bartenstein garnered recognition as Eichkorn’s doubles partner. This year’s honor marks the third straight season Eichkorn was recognized as an All-America performer. It marks Bartenstein’s first career honor.
“This is a big accomplishment for both of them,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I am happy to see that their work and determination paid off.
“This is something that will stay with them forever.”
Eichkorn recently wrapped up one of the more historic careers of any Hurricane in program history, breaking the school record for the most singles victories all-time. The 2011 ACC Player of the Year won a team-best 33 singles matches as a senior to close out her career with a record 133 victories.
Eichkorn also became one of just four players in program history to record 100-plus career victories in both singles as doubles as she finished second on the all-time doubles chart with 108 wins.
Against ACC opponents, the Tengen, Germany was nearly unbeatable. In four seasons, she went an impressive 37-3 in singles against league foes, including a perfect 11-0 mark this past season in the Canes’ top singles position – with all but one of those wins coming in straight sets. Over her final two seasons, the ITA Southeast Region Senior of the Year went 45-4 in dual match play.
In addition to her singles accomplishments this past season, Eichkorn enjoyed similar success in doubles, where she teamed with Bartenstein to go 32-5 overall and 24-2 in dual match play in Miami’s top position.
Eichkorn and Bartenstein also turned in an impressive 10-1 record against ACC opponents during the regular season, the best mark of any tandem in the conference in the No. 1 spot.
The pair played their best tennis down the stretch, winning 14 of their last 15 over the season’s final two months. During that span and in the postseason, they defeated a fourth-ranked team from Clemson, an eighth-ranked team from Michigan and were leading 7-5 against a second-ranked team from Florida when the match was abandoned.
Eichkorn and Bartenstein climbed in the rankings all season, moving up from No. 46 in the preseason to No. 5 at the season’s end.
Their 32 wins on the year ranks in a tie for 10th all-time in a single season at UM.
To earn All-America honors in singles, a player must have been a Top 16 seed in the NCAA tournament, reached the Round of 16 in the singles championship or have finished the season ranked in the ITA’s Top 20.
In doubles, a player must have been a top-eight seed or reached the quarterfinals of the doubles championship, or have finished the season ranked in the Top 10 of the final ITA rankings.
To view the entire listing of the 2011 ITA All-Americans, visit www.itatennis.com.
