W. Tennis Hosts Ole Miss in NCAA Second Round
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After extending one streak Friday, the University of Miami women’s tennis team will now look to keep another going Saturday.
The Hurricanes downed North Florida Friday, 4-0, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Team Championship for the 14th year in a row, a stretch that dates back to Paige Yaroshuk-Tews’ first season as the program’s head coach.
Miami (17-6, 12-2 ACC) now will attempt to make it 10 straight years reaching the Sweet 16 when it faces No. 23 Ole Miss Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
“Ole Miss is coming in from a tough conference. They’re coming in having played tough opponents,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “They’re good competitors and we just need to play our game.”
The Rebels won 4-1 over Denver Friday to reach the second round for the second year in a row. Last season, both Miami and Ole Miss were defeated in the NCAA Team Championship by eventual national champion UCLA.
Additionally, both the Hurricanes and Rebels feature a 2015 All-American at the top singles position. Ole Miss’ Julia Jones, ranked No. 10, and Miami junior Stephanie Wagner, ranked No. 11, are each seeded No. 9-16 in the NCAA Singles Championship.
The Rebels also have another ranked singles player in Arianne Hartono, who checks in at No. 82. Ole Miss (16-10, 5-8 SEC) has three ranked doubles pairs, led by Jones and Natalie Suk at No. 65. Erin Stephens is ranked in two separate duos, first with Iris Verboven at the No. 69 spot and then with Mai El Kamash at No. 70.
Wagner, a First Team All-ACC pick, paces a quartet of Hurricanes ranked in singles. Freshman Sinead Lohan, also an NCAA Singles Championship selection, is next at No. 37. Junior Clementina Riobueno comes in at No. 83 and she is followed by freshman Wendy Zhang at No. 108 and senior Lina Lileikite at No. 115.
There are two Miami doubles pairs in the ITA’s rankings, with Lileikite and Wagner at No. 17 and then Riobueno along with senior Monique Albuquerque at No. 72.
The Hurricanes’ match against Ole Miss will be its final one at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in this season. They enter at 10-1 on their home court in 2015.
“What we’ve been talking about all season is that it comes down to us. It comes down to how we’re going to play, how organized we’re going to be, how feisty we’re going to be, and how competitive we’re going to be,” Yaroshuk-Tews said of Saturday’s match. “We need to come out tomorrow and play to win, and not play to protect or play to see what happens. We need to come out and we need to take it. Ole Miss is a good team, they’re a solid team, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
Live stats for the match between the Hurricanes and Rebels can be found HERE.
To track the action on Twitter and to keep up with Miami throughout the postseason, follow @HurricaneTennis.
