@HurricaneTennis Set for National Indoors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami departs Wednesday for its 11th consecutive appearance in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
The Hurricanes, ranked No. 12 in the nation, will be one of 16 women’s teams participating in the tournament, beginning Friday, Feb. 6 at Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. The tournament will run for four days, culminating with the championship Monday, Feb. 9.
The Hurricanes will begin play at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning against seventh-ranked Alabama, the sixth overall seed in the draw.
“Excited to see Alabama in the first round,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I think we match up well with them. Have to be ready to pull the trigger first Friday. Players are excited to get on that flight [Wednesday] morning.”
With the early start Friday, Miami’s match is one of the two that will open the action in Charlottesville.
The Crimson Tide features three ranked singles players in No. 25 Erin Routliffe, T-No. 56 Danielle Spielmann and No. 59 Maya Jansen. Alabama also has a pair of ranked doubles pairs, both featuring Jansen. She teams with Routliffe for the No. 18 spot and partners with Luicelena Perez at No. 23.
Miami has five ranked singles players, including seventh-ranked Stephanie Wagner, a junior, as well as two freshmen in the top 60 in No. 39 Sinead Lohan and No. 58 Wendy Zhang.
The Hurricanes also feature a trio ranked doubles pairs, with two in the top 15. Wagner and senior Lina Lileikite are ranked eighth, while senior Monique Albuquerque and junior Clementina Riobueno are No. 15.
Miami is 2-0 so far this season and won both dual matches without conceding a point. The Hurricanes defeated North Florida, 4-0, Jan. 24 and then knocked off Florida State, 5-0, Jan. 25.
Prior to that, Miami began the season by hosting the Miami Spring Invite at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center and put together an impressive 28-8 showing against Texas, Utah and Vanderbilt. The Hurricanes went 20-4 in singles play during the invitational.
The ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships Main Event Page can be found here. It features live scoring, photos, recaps and more.
Five ACC teams are in the field, tied for the most of any conference. Additionally, 15 of the 16 qualifiers are ranked in the top 20 in the nation, including each of the top five teams.
“Huge,” Yaroshuk-Tews said of how big of a test the stiff competition is. “Every point is a battle.”
For more information on University of Miami women’s tennis, follow @HurricaneTennis.
