Ninth-Ranked Canes Head to ACC Championships

April 19, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team enters the ACC Championships at the Cary (N.C.) Tennis Center with an 18-3 regular season mark and a No. 3 seed.

The Canes earned a bye through Thursday’s first round and are guaranteed a matchup with the winner of the Georgia Tech/Maryland meeting on Friday at 3 p.m.

UM’s three losses are tied for the lowest in the regular season for the Canes since the program was reestablished in 1992. The Canes suffered only three regular season losses during the 2005 season – its first year in the ACC.

Including Miami, the ACC Tournament features six teams that advanced to at the least the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament, three of which moved on to the Elite Eight.

“I believe the ACC is the toughest women’s tennis conference in the country,” said head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “We need to be prepared for a competitive match on Friday, we’re taking this one day and one match at a time.”

Top-seeded Duke leads six current ACC teams that rank in the Top 25 of the current ITA Rankings (Duke-2, UNC-8, Miami-9, Virginia-15, Clemson-22, Georgia Tech-25).

“Playing at a high level is only the beginning,” Yaroshuk-Tews added.  “It is essential that we play with an incredible amount of fortitude and discipline in order to be successful.”

The Canes feature three ranked singles players (Anna Bartenstein – 16; Gabriela Mejia – 25; Lina Lileikite – 64) and a pair of ranked doubles teams (Liat Zimmerman/Melissa Bolivar – 18; Gabriela Mejia/Lina Lileikite – 84). Bartenstein and Mejia are two of five conference players ranked among the Top 25.

Earlier today, it was announced by the conference office that Bartenstien and Mejia had been named to the 18-woman All-ACC Women’s Tennis Team.

During the season, Miami freshman Lileikite has been named the ACC Player of the Week on two occasions out of her No. 3 singles position, while Mejia earned the weekly honor once at No. 2.