W. Tennis to Host 11th Straight NCAA Regional
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team was one of 16 programs across the nation tabbed by the selection committee to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Team Championship, as announced Tuesday evening.
The Hurricanes, both seeded and ranked No. 15, will welcome Ole Miss, Denver and North Florida to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, May 8-9.
This is the 11th year in a row that that the Hurricanes are hosting the first and second round of the NCAA Championships and the 20th consecutive season that Miami (16-6, 12-2 ACC) has made the field overall.
“Huge accomplishment for the program,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said of the Hurricanes hosting yet again. “We came out of ACCs with kind of a sour taste in our mouths, so this is obviously some good news that I think that we needed. These girls have worked really hard this season.”
Ole Miss (15-10, 5-8 SEC) is ranked No. 20 in the nation and features a pair of ranked singles players in No. 9 Julia Jones and No. 80 Arianne Hartono. The Rebels also have a trio of doubles pairs ranked in the top 75.
Denver (15-8, 7-0 Summit) will face Ole Miss in the first round. Miami will take on UNF (17-3, 6-0 A-Sun) in the other first round contest. The Hurricanes defeated the Ospreys, 4-0, Jan. 24 in Coral Gables during ITA National Indoor Kick-Off Weekend.
The 15th-ranked Hurricanes finished in the second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and have been ranked in the top 20 the entire season. Miami has had five singles players ranked and at least two doubles pairs ranked in every set of rankings this season.
Junior Stephanie Wagner, ranked No. 10 in the nation in in singles, was named First Team All-ACC for the second year in a row. Sinead Lohan, the country’s 40th-ranked singles player, was voted the ACC Freshman of the Year and made Second Team All-ACC.
“I still truly believe that we have not played our best tennis match yet,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Just like I told them, things happen for a reason and we got to get back to practice tomorrow, get ready to play, and get ready to go far in the Tournament. I think that we could do some damage moving forward. I’m happy for the girls, I’m happy for their effort, and I think at the end of the day that they definitely deserved [to host].”
Miami has advanced to the Sweet 16 each of the last nine years, a streak that began in 2006 and is good for the fourth longest in the nation. The Hurricanes have won at least one match in the NCAA Team Championship in all 13 of Yaroshuk-Tews’ years at the helm.
Match times and additional information on the regional will be available in the coming days.
To keep up with the Hurricanes throughout the NCAA Tournament, as well as to learn more about University of Miami women’s tennis, follow @HurricaneTennis.
