W. Tennis Sends Four to Round of 16
ATHENS, Ga. — The Hurricanes opened play at the ITA Southeast Regional Championship on Friday morning on the campus of the University of Georgia. The team tallied 14 wins on the first day of the tournament, sending all three doubles teams and four singles players to the round of 16.
“Really happy with our doubles performance today at all three spots,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “To have four players in the round of 16 singles says a lot about the depth of this program.”
Starting the day with doubles, the Hurricanes quickly picked up three wins—all over doubles teams from the state of Florida. Kelsey Laurente and Melissa Bolivar defeated Nina Nagode and Tina Mohorcic of FIU by a score of 8-3, Stephanie Wagner and Brittany Dubins easily handled first names??? Courtney Griffith and Cortney Cesarini from UCF 8-4, and Clementina Riobueno and Monique Albuquerque made quick work of a pair of USF Bulls, defeating Loreto Alonso-Martinez and Vera Bessonova 8-1.
The Hurricanes’ domination continued with seven more victories in the singles round of 64. Dubins easily defeated Mercer’s Lucie Payrat 6-0, 6-0, No. 54 Wagner defeated USF’s Fanny Fracassi 6-3, 6-1, and No. 69 Riobueno had little trouble with Tina Mohorcic of FIU, beating her 6-1, 6-3.
Lina Lileikite cruised past her first-round opponent, Eduarda Nardi Dos Santos. The Canes’ 84th-ranked player bested the freshman from Florida State in two sets, 6-3, 6-1. Bolivar and Laurente both defeated first-round opponents from Kennesaw State. Bolivar took down Virginie Stein, winning 6-2, 6-2, and No. 54 Laurente topped Jana Hueckinghaus by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Finalizing Miami’s perfect slate through the first round of singles was Albuquerque, who defeated Elizabeth Means of Florida Gulf Coast in two sets, 6-1, 6-0.
In the singles round of 32, the Canes picked up four more wins from Wagner, Riobueno, Lileikite, and Bolivar. Wagner held a 4-1 lead in the first set before Florida State’s Mia Vriens had to retire. For Riobueno, the road to the round of 16 was slightly more difficult. The Hurricanes’ sophomore won the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 before pulling away in the second set 6-2 over Georgia Tech’s Natasha Prokhnevska.
Lileikite also had a hard-fought match in the round of 32, edging out FIU’s Carlotta Orlando 6-4 in the first set and in a 7-6 tiebreaker in the second set to seal the win.
“Lina fought so hard and played an amazing set of tennis today in her second round,” Yaroshuk-Tews said.
Dubins, playing her second-round match against Florida’s Belinda Woolcock, came up on the wrong end of a tough match 6-0, 6-3.
Bolivar and Laurente each came up short in their round of 32 matchups. Bolivar was defeated by Abigail Tere-Apisah of Georgia State by a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, and Laurente dropped her match to Georgia’s Lilly Kimbell 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
Albuquerque picked up what may have been the most impressive win of the day against Georgia’s Kate Fuller in her second match. Facing Fuller on her home court, Albuquerque edged her out in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
“To take down a Georgia kid at UGA is a task in itself—but do it on her terms like she did is remarkable,” Yaroshuk-Tews said.
The tournament will resume Saturday with two rounds of doubles beginning at 9 a.m. and singles following shortly after.
Doubles (Main Draw)
Laurente/Bolivar (UM) def. Nagode/Mohorcic (FIU), 8-4
Wagner/Dubins (UM) def. Griffith/Cesarini (UCF), 8-4
Riobueno/Albuquerque (UM) def. Martinez/Bessonova (USF), 8-1
Singles Main Draw (Round of 64)
Brittany Dubins (UM) def. Lucie Payrat (MER), 6-0, 6-1
Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Fanny Fracassi (USF), 6-3, 6-1
Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Tina Mohorcic (FIU), 6-1, 6-3
Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Eduarda Nardi Dos Santos (FSU), 6-3, 6-1
Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Virginie Stein (KSU), 6-2, 6-2
Kelsey Laurente (UM) def. Jana Hueckinghaus (KSU), 6-3, 6-1
Monique Albuquerque (UM) def. Elizabeth Means (FGCU), 6-1, 6-0
Singles Main Draw (Round of 32)
Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Brittany Dubins (UM), 6-0, 6-3
Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Mia Vriens (FSU), 4-1, ret.
Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Natasha Prokhnevska (GT), 7-6, 6-2
Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Carlotta Orlando (FIU), 6-4, 7-6
Abigail Tere-Apisah (GaSt) def. Melissa Bolivar (UM), 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Monique Albuquerque (UM) def. Kate Fuller (UGA), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Lilly Kimbell (UGA) vs. Kelsey Laurente (UM), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
