No. 11 Hurricanes Clinch Berth in National Indoors
Jan. 29, 2012
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The No. 11 Miami Hurricanes (2-0) earned a spot in February’s National Team Indoor Championship on Sunday, topping No. 42 South Florida 5-2 in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend finale.
The Canes, who have no matches scheduled until the opening day of National Indoors on Feb. 10, will be one of possibly six entries from the Atlantic Coast Conference in the tournament. Five ACC teams have already qualified, and Virginia Tech is scheduled to face Georgia on Monday night.
“We knew that South Florida was a strong team. We knew they were feisty, we knew they were physical,” Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I was really happy to see how the team came out today and played. They did exactly what I asked them to do.”
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The Hurricanes took their first point of the day when their duos at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles earned victories. Senior Anna Bartenstein and sophomore Brittany Dubins fell to the talented Bulls duo of Ecaterina Vasenina and Loreto Alonso (8-2) at No. 1, but dominant wins from the other two positions (8-3, 8-3) secured the point.
“They played without fear in positions where we needed them to,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “It was a great day of tennis.”
Liat Zimmerman earned her fourth victory of the young season with a brilliant win at No. 5 singles (6-2, 6-1) over Bulls’ sophomore Alessandra Bonte. After the match, Yaroshuk-Tews couldn’t help but show her excitement with her star freshman’s impressive first weekend.
“Liat really showed what she’s capable of doing,” the coach said. “In my opinion, if Liat stays on this road, she really is going to develop into one of the better players in college tennis. I truly believe that.”
Senior Gabriela Mejia capped a flawless weekend with a powerful victory in No. 2 singles over Alonso (6-2, 6-2). The Cali, Colombia native, ranked No. 39 in the preseason ITA singles poll, is a perfect 5-0 at her No. 2 singles position in 2012.
Freshman Lina Lileikite clinched the day for the Hurricanes with a win over Bulls’ junior Danielle Mills (6-4, 6-3). The Latvian newcomer, whose maturity has impressed the coaching staff in the early going, displayed her dominant forehand and penchant for quick feet in the straight-set victory.
After falling behind in the second set, sophomore Brittany Dubins came back to earn an impressive victory at No. 6 singles. The Bulls earned the last two points of the day, as Bartenstein fell to Vasenina at No. 1 singles (6-4, 6-4) and sophomore Melissa Bolivar lost a heartbreaker at No. 4 (6-3, 5-7 [11-9]).
After a few days of rest, the team will begin their preparation for February’s key tournament. And though the indoors venue will present a different type of challenge for the Canes, the coaching staff already has special drills ready for the team when they return to practice.
“It’s just a great thing for the program,” Yaroshuk-Tews remarked. “Miami necesarily isn’t always known to be an indoor team, but we always seem to get up there and find a way to get the job done. We’re looking forward to it.”
