Canes to Open Fall Season at Duke Fab Four Invite
CORAL GABLES, Fla.-Three short months after its season ended with another deep NCAA Tournament run, the University of Miami’s women’s tennis team will officially open its fall season Friday at the Duke Fab Four Invite at the Cary (N.C.) Tennis Center.
Head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, who has now led the Canes to or past the NCAA `Elite Eight’ five of the last six seasons, is back for her 11th year atop the program. Also back are seniors Anna Bartenstein and Gabriela Mejia, who combined to go 18-3 over last season’s final two months. They are joined by a talented group of returning underclassmen, led by sophomores Melissa Bolivar and Brittany Dubins.
“This group of girls has been working extremely hard in order to be prepared for this tournament,” assistant coach Alex Santos said. “We will take every opportunity to compete seriously. Our goal this weekend is to show that Miami’s game is about fighting for every single point.”
Bartenstein, Mejia, Bolivar and Dubins will all play both singles and doubles in this weekend’s tournament, which will be hosted by Duke University and run from Friday through Sunday. Action on the first day will start with doubles matches at 9 a.m., followed by singles at 12 p.m.
Bartenstein, the nation’s 25th-ranked singles player heading into the fall, is scheduled to take on Amy Allin from Illinois in her first singles match as a senior. Last season, Bartenstein closed out her junior year as one of the more dominant secondary players in the country over the latter part of the season, as the Graz, Austria native won 16 of her final 18 singles matches. On the year, she went 24-7 overall, 19-4 in dual match play and an impressive 10-1 against ACC opponents in the No. 2 singles position.
Mejia, the team’s other senior and the 103rd ranked singles player nationally, will face North Carolina’s Haley Hemm in first round. Mejia was just as strong down the stretch for the Canes in 2011, winning nine of her last 11 matches – mostly at the No. 3 position — including going 3-0 in NCAA Tournament play. She finished the season with singles marks of 25-9 overall and 19-6 in dual match play.
Mejia and Bartenstein will be teaming together in doubles for the first time this fall. Last season, Bartenstein was ranked among the nation’s elite in doubles alongside UM record-holder Bianca Eichkorn, who graduated in the spring. This fall, Mejia moves up from No. 2 doubles to join Bartenstein at the top. They will take on the William & Mary’s tandem of Katie Kargl and Kayla Rizzolo in the first round. Rizzolo played for the Hurricanes as a freshman last year before transferring to William & Mary this past offseason.
Bolivar, who went 9-2 in ACC play a season ago as a freshman, will take on Noel Scott of Texas in the first round, while Dubins is matched up against Texas A&M’s 20th-ranked Nazari Urbina. Together, Bolivar and Dubins will take on Purdue’s Lynda Xepoleas and Daniela Vidal in first round doubles action.
Players from 11 schools are participating in the tournament, including five schools that finished last season ranked in the Top 25 (UM, Duke, UNC, Texas and Virginia).
If either or both Miami teams win their opening round doubles match, the second round match will be played immediately following. Second round singles is slated for Saturday.
“It will be good to compete against players on some of the best teams in the country to see where we are in our preparation,” Santos said. “Everyone is excited to get going.”
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Sept 16
9:00 – 1st round of Doubles
10:00 – 2nd round of Doubles
12:00 – 1st round of Singles
Saturday, Sept 17
9:00 – 3rd (and final) round of Doubles
11:30 – 2nd round of Singles
2:30 – 3rd round of Singles
Sunday, Sept 18
9:00 – Final round of Singles
