Yaroshuk-Tews, Wagner Garner ITA Regional Awards
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head women’s tennis coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews was named the Wilson/ITA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, while Stephanie Wagner won regional Senior Player of the Year, as announced Monday by the ITA.
This is the second time Yaroshuk-Tews has been named the region’s coach of the year, joining the 2013 campaign. For Wagner, it is her third ITA regional honor, after previously winning Rookie of the Year in 2013 and Player to Watch, which she also earned on a national level, in 2015.
Yaroshuk-Tews, in her 15th season at the helm of the Hurricanes, has guided Miami to a 19-5 (12-2 ACC) record. Miami won 15 matches in a row, from March 2 through April 23, good for the program’s longest winning streak since 2005.
“I am flattered that the region has recognized my efforts,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “It’s always a nice feeling to have your peers voting for you.”
Despite playing all spring without sophomore Yolimar Ogando, who was ranked No. 21 in singles to open the year, Yaroshuk-Tews has guided Miami to the No. 7 overall seed in the NCAA Team Championship, the program’s third-highest mark of the last 29 seasons. Miami is currently seventh in the Oracle/ITA national rankings and has been in the top 10 for eight of the past nine weeks.
Yaroshuk-Tews reached 300 career victories with a 5-0 win at NC State April 9. She is now 304-89 (.774) as a head coach, including 116-23 (.835) in ACC play. This year, she directed Miami to its sixth ACC Championship title match appearance in 12 years in the conference.
Wagner is ranked ninth in the country in singles and No. 12 nationally in doubles. She is 33-11 in 2015-16 in singles play, including 20-5 in the spring, 18-5 in dual matches, 13-1 in ACC play and 16-4 at the No. 1 position. Wagner has posted 20 victories over ranked players, including 13 against top-50 opponents, with four coming against top-10 foes.
“Huge honor for Steffi,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Our region is one of the toughest in the country and it’s a very well deserved award.”
A native of Amberg, Germany, Wagner was named First Team All-ACC, making her the second Hurricane to be a four-time All-ACC honoree. Wagner, the second-highest ranked senior in the country, was tabbed as the ACC Player of the Week four times this spring, the most by any player since 2012.
Wagner has clinched her second straight ITA All-America singles honor by being seeded in the NCAA Singles Championship. She is also in the NCAA Doubles Championship, one of just 24 players in both fields. Wagner is the first Hurricane to win ITA Southeast Region Senior Player of the Year since Bianca Eichkorn in 2011, and she is one singles victory behind Eichkorn for first place on Miami’s all-time list.
Yaroshuk-Tews, Wagner and the Hurricanes open play in the NCAA Team Championship Friday at 2 p.m., against Quinnipiac at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Miami has made the Sweet 16 each of the past 10 seasons, good for the fourth-longest streak in the country.
For more information on the University of Miami women’s tennis team, follow @CanesWTennis.
