No. 13 W. Tennis Downs Pitt on Road, 6-1
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team picked up their first ACC road win of the season in a 6-1 win against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Friday.
The win for Miami (8-2, 5-0 ACC) marks the fifth-straight ACC win of the season and the first one away from Coral Gables.
With a familiar face coaching the Panthers in former Hurricane assistant Alex Santos, Miami quickly notched the doubles point after wins from 24th-ranked Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobeuno as well as Lina Lileikite and Stephanie Wagner.
Albuquerque and Riobueno handled Audrey Ann Blakely and Amanda Wickman 8-2 and Wagner and Lileikite took their match against Jocelyn Lu and Kimmy Borza 8-5.
“Today was a tough match against a good friend,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We were a bit tired after a long travel day yesterday but I think we did a good job for the most part.”
After winning the doubles point, Miami went on to win five of the six singles matches on the day, which Yaroshuk-Tews credited to Miami’s serving.
“We served the best I’ve seen all season and got to the net early in points which we needed to do.”
First to complete her match was 71st-ranked Wagner, who was in dominant form in her 6-0, 6-0 win against Lolade Ogungbesan. With the win, Wagner remained perfect in ACC play and improved her spring singles record to 10-2.
Riobueno, playing in the three-singles slot, also made quick work of her opponent, defeating Amanda Wickman in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. It marks Riobueno’s fifth-straight victory and keeps her record at a perfect 4-0 while playing at the three-singles spot.
Next to complete her win and clinch the match for Miami was Lileikite. In straight sets 6-2, 6-1 against Molly Wickman, Lileikite notched her seventh singles win of the spring.
Playing at the six-singles spot, Albuquerque had little difficulty against Lu, defeating her in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 en route to her team-high 11th win of the season. Albuquerque also extended her team-long winning streak to six.
No. 40 Laurente came up on the losing end of a tough battle against Pitt’s number one player Blakely. After falling 7-5 in the first set Laurente couldn’t recover and dropped the second set 6-1.
Bolivar registered her ninth singles win of the season with a win against Kimmy Borza 6-3, 6-4. The win for Bolivar improves her record at the five-singles spot to a flawless 3-0.
The Hurricanes continue their road trip on Sunday, Mar. 9 when they travel to Raleigh, N.C., for an ACC match against the NC State Wolfpack. First serve on Sunday is set for 11 a.m.
Singles
1. Audrey Ann Blakely (PITT) def. #40 Kelsey Laurente (UM) 7-5, 6-1
2. #71 Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Lolade Ogungbesan (PITT) 6-0, 6-0
3. Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Amanda Wickman (PITT) 6-1, 6-0
4. Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Molly Wickman (PITT) 6-2, 6-1
5. Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Kimmy Borza (PITT) 6-3, 6-4
6. Monique Albuquerque (UM) def. Jocelyn Lu (PITT) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. #24 Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Audrey Ann Blakely/Amanda Wickman (PITT) 8-2
2. #48 Kelsey Laurente/Melissa Bolivar (UM) vs. Lolade Ogungbesan/Molly Wickman (PITT) 6-5, unfinished
3. Lina Lileikite/Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Jocelyn Lu/Kimmy Borza (PITT) 8-5
