W. Tennis Opens NCAA Regionals Home vs. UNF

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team is hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Team Championship for the 11th year in a row and will begin play Friday afternoon.

The Hurricanes, both seeded and ranked No. 15, take on North Florida (17-3, 6-0 A-Sun) at 2:00 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. That match will be preceded by 23rd-ranked Ole Miss (15-10, 5-8 SEC) facing Denver (15-8, 7-0 Summit) Friday at 11:00 a.m.

Miami (16-6, 12-2 ACC) has already played North Florida this season, winning 4-0 in the team’s first dual match of the year Jan. 24 in Coral Gables. The Ospreys are coached by Audra Cohen, a Miami alumna who won the first NCAA Singles Championship in program history.

The Hurricanes enter the tournament with a quartet of ranked singles players, including All-American Stephanie Wagner. The junior is ranked No. 11 in the nation, while ACC Freshman of the Year Sinead Lohan comes in at No. 37.

Rounding out the group of five are junior Clementina Riobueno at No. 83, freshman Wendy Zhang at No. 108 and senior Lina Lileikite at No. 115. In doubles, Lileikite and Wagner are ranked No. 17 by the ITA. Riobueno and senior Monique Albuquerque hold the No. 72 position.

North Florida does not have any ranked players or pairs, but is 16-1 in its last 17 matches, with nine straight wins entering NCAA play.

The winners of Friday’s matches will face each other Saturday at 2:00 p.m. with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Live stats for all matches in Miami’s NCAA Regional can be found HERE.

This will be Miami’s 30th appearance in the NCAA Team Championship and its 20th in a row. Under the direction of head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, the Hurricanes have made the Sweet 16 each of the past nine seasons.

To keep up with the Hurricanes throughout the postseason, as well as to learn more about University of Miami women’s tennis, follow @HurricaneTennis.