Miami Stays Hot With 5-2 Win Over Clemson
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – With a 50 percent chance of showers, the tenth-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team took the courts against the 34th-ranked Clemson Tigers. It didn’t take long for the rain to come. Play was suspended twice in the middle of doubles, but five hours after the start of play the Canes had earned their fourth point and had clinched the match.
“Tough teams are able to navigate through tough conditions,” said coach Yaroshuk-Tews. “Today we moved forward as a program. We had a huge win at No. 1 doubles and fought harder than them in singles.”
After the second rain delay Gabriela Mejia and Lina Lilekite built upon their lead at No. 2, eventually coming out on top 8-3. The Canes would then lose at No. 3, but it wasn’t long before the No. 1 tandem of Liat Zimmerman and Melissa Bolivar pulled off an 8-4 win against the 20th-ranked duo of Keri Wong and Josipa Beck to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, Lina Lilekite, who recently broke into the rankings at No. 119, made quick work of Clemson’s Nelly Ciolkowski at the No. 3 position to give Miami a 2-0 lead.
Clemson would grab their first point of the day at No. 6 singles as sophomore Brittany Dubins lost to 90th-ranked Klara Vyskocilova, 6-1, 6-1.
Shortly after, the Hurricanes were able to secure the match with wins at No. 1 and No. 5 singles as 12th-ranked Anna Bartenstein won her singles match, 6-1, 6-3 and Liat Zimmerman bested Romy Koelzer, 6-1, 6-5.
With the match decided, the two teams played out a pair of tiebreakers. No. 25 Gabriela Mejia would lose her first match of the year to No. 76 Keri Wong (7-6, 0-6, 1-10), but Melissa Bolivar would win at No. 4 singles (6-4, 6-7, 11-9). Giving Miami the victory, officially at 5-2.
Newcomers Lina Lilekite and Liat Zimmerman have continued to mature and step up for the Hurricanes. “The freshmen are really behaving and acting like upperclassmen, which we knew was going to have to happen in order for us to have a successful season,” said coach Yaroshuk-Tews.
Now at 7-1 on the year and 2-0 in conference play, UM is focused on next Friday’s ACC matchup against No. 37 Boston College. The match will take place at 12 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
