@HurricaneTennis Hosts No. 24 Duke, No. 2 UNC

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team will welcome a pair of top-25 ACC opponents to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center over the next three days.

Ranked No. 16 in the nation, the Hurricanes will first face Duke (12-6, 7-1 ACC) Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in a matchup of teams tied for second in the conference.

The Blue Devils have three ranked singles players on their roster in No. 38 Ester Goldfeld, No. 55 Samantha Harris and No. 109 Rachel Kahan. Additionally, the duo of Harris and Beatrice Capra holds the No. 49 position on the ITA’s doubles list.

Two days after the showdown against Duke, Miami (11-4, 7-1 ACC) will have a rematch against undefeated, second-ranked North Carolina (21-0, 9-0 ACC). The teams met in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 7 in Charlottesville, Va. and the Tar Heels won en route to taking the title.

North Carolina, like Miami, has five players who are nationally ranked in singles. Jamie Loeb is ninth in the country, Hayley Carter checks in at No. 17, Caroline Price is No. 18, Whitney Kay holds the No. 72 spot, and Ashley Dai is ranked No. 78.

The Tar Heels also have three ranked doubles pairs: Loeb and Price at No. 13, Kay and Carter at No. 33 as well as Dai and Kate Vialle at No. 34.

Miami enters with a quintet of singles ranked players, with junior Stephanie Wagner topping the group at No. 6 in the nation. Freshman Sinead Lohan is ranked No. 39, junior Clementina Riobueno checks in at No. 63, freshman Wendy Zhang is No. 96 on the list, and senior Lina Lileikite holds the No. 125 position.

As for doubles, Wagner and Lileikite are ranked sixth in the country, while Riobueno and senior Monique Albuquerque are No. 29.

Live stats for Miami’s matches against both Duke and North Carolina will be available HERE.

To track the action on Twitter, as well as learn more about University of Miami women’s tennis, follow @HurricaneTennis.