Two Canes Advance in ITA Summer Tournament
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In the first day of the 2013 ITA National Collegiate Summer Championship, University of Miami women’s tennis players Kelsey Laurente and Clementina Riobueno advanced to the third round of play.
Laurente, coming into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, received a bye in the opening round of the tournament and in the second round beat Jennifer Pfeifler of Auburn University 6-4, 6-4.
Riobueno also received a bye in the first round of the tournament as the No. 6 overall seed. Squaring off against Emily Barretta from the University of Illinois, Riobueno put her away 6-1, 6-1 to advance to Sunday’s third round.
“Competing in these events this summer will jump-start Riobueno’s and Laurente’s fall,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “In order to continue to improve as a program we need to use our fall to establish an incredible base for the spring.”
Laurente’s third round opponent is Maddie Koblelt from Syracuse University. Kobelt advanced via bye in the opening round of the tournament before beating her seconr round opponent Stephanie Smith in a very close second round matchup.
Matched up against Riobueno in the third round is Katya Vasilyev from Boston College. Vasilyev snuck by her second round opponent, Denise Azcui 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (6).
Riobueno is familiar with Vasilyev, having beaten her 6-2, 6-2 back on April 6 when Miami beat Boston College in ACC play.
Both Laurente and Riobueno will play their third round matches on Sunday morning, and if victorious, will play in the fourth round just a few hours later.
“Too many college athletes use the fall to get back in shape or to get ‘tournament tough’,” Yaroshuk-Tews added. “We must already be engaged when we report in a few weeks. The most successful ladies will be. Most of our team has been competing this summer and I hope Kelsey and Clementina end their summers on a high note.”
Laurente and Riobueno will also be competing together in the doubles portion of the tournament, which will get underway Sunday afternoon.
For updates on the progress of Riobueno and Laurente at the 2013 ITA National Collegiate Summer Championship, visit the tournament bracket page here.
