Hurricanes Sweep Matadors in Season Opener

Jan. 28, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The No. 11 Miami Hurricanes battled their way to a 7-0 sweep of opposing Cal State Northridge in the first round of ITA Kick-Off Weekend hosted at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Saturday.

The Canes, who will face USF in the championship final on Sunday at 2 p.m., will be fighting for a trip to Charlottesville, Va. and the National Team Indoor Championships, scheduled for Feb. 17-20.

“It always feels nice to get a win,” Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said after the match. “But I definitely think we need to step it up in quite a few spots.”

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The Hurricanes, featuring three new combinations in doubles action, earned the match’s first point by way of victory from underclassmen combo Melissa Bolivar and Liat Zimmerman (8-6), along with a win from Gabriela Mejia and Lina Lileikite (8-5).

“We have some new teams out there, some teams that haven’t really been in the trenches,” Coach Yaroshuk-Tews said. “They’re learning every game. Everyday they play together, they’re learning more about each other.”

The Hurricanes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the match with quick victories from Lileikite (6-1, 6-1) playing at No. 3 singles and Mejia at No. 2 singles (6-1, 6-0).

“We were impressed with Lina today,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She stayed pretty dsiciplined, took care of business, and was very methodical. I think she had a great day.”

Miami’s most decorated player, senior Anna Bartenstein, fell down quickly in her first set at No. 1 singles but managed to fight her way to a comeback victory over Jennifer Sher of the Matadors (0-6, 6-0, 6-1). Bartenstein was ranked No. 15 nationally in the initial ITA spring singles rankings.

Sophomore Melissa Bolivar, who went 3-0 in her first action of 2012 at the Eagle Invite, continued her strong play with a commanding victory at No. 4 singles (6-4, 6-1). Bolivar is undefeated so far this spring, boasting a flawless 4-0 records in both singles and doubles.

Though the match had been decided by the time No. 5 and No. 6 singles concluded, Zimmerman and Dubins helped lead the Hurricanes to a sweep. Both underclassmen won their 10-point tiebreakers in dominating fashion to earn the final two points of the day for the Hurricanes.

According to Coach Yaroshuk-Tews, Miami will need to come out even better tomorrow afternoon if they hope to book next month’s plane tickets to Virginia.

“South Florida’s a good team, they’re a tough team, they’re a feisty team, “she said. “I think that we protected a little too much today. Tomorrow the girls are going to have to come out and take it. They’re playing great tennis, it’s just a matter of bringing it out every point during the match.”