W. Tennis Jumps to No. 12 in ITA Rankings

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team moved up three spots to No. 12 in the ITA Division I Women’s Rankings released Thursday.

The No. 12 ranking is the highest the Hurricanes (19-5) have been in the polls since checking in at No. 9 on Jan. 29.

Three singles players—Stephanie Wagner, Kelsey Laurente and Lina Lileikite—appeared in the poll this week. Wagner moved up one spot to No. 29, Laurente checked in at No. 66 while Lileikite remained at No. 90.

In doubles, Miami’s top duo of Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno cracked the top-10 for the first time this season, checking in at No. 8. Laurente and Melissa Bolivar remained in the poll again this week at No. 40.

An Amberg, Germany native, Wagner was recently named to the All-ACC First Team after finishing the regular season with a 20-4 record and a 12-2 ACC mark. It was announced Wednesday that Wagner was one of 49 at-large selections to compete in the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship 64-player tournament.

Albuquerque and Riobueno are 19-2 overall this spring with a 10-1 mark in conference play. The pair finished the spring with a 13-2 record at the top spot while taking down five nationally ranked opponents. Albuquerque and Riobueno were one of 22 doubles teams to receive an at-large selection to the 32-team NCAA doubles tournament. The Miami duo drew the eighth overall seed in the tournament.

The Hurricanes will be hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament at Neil Schiff Tennis Center on May 9-10. Miami drew the 12th overall seed in the tournament and will host Boston University, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 54 Wichita State in Coral Gables on May 9-10.

The winner of each regional site advances to the national tournament in Athens, Georgia, where the 16 teams will compete for the national championship May 15-20.

For more information on the women’s tennis team as they prepare for the NCAA tournament, follow @HurricaneTennis on Twitter and Instagram.