@CanesWTennis Downs BC, 4-0, to Reach ACC Semis
ROME, Ga. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team defeated Boston College, 4-0, Friday afternoon to earn its ninth trip to the ACC Championship semifinals in just 13 years in the conference.
Following a double-bye, No. 32 Miami (12-10, 8-6 ACC), seeded fourth, logged its first shutout in ACC Championship play since 2009 with the triumph over No. 12-seed Boston College (11-14, 4-10 ACC) at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
“I think we are playing a little better tennis. We are getting a little bit tougher in some positions,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “The freshmen are starting to understand how you win college tennis matches. We obviously had a bad taste in our mouth after losing to BC in the regular season. So, I just think we did what we needed to do and got the result that we wanted.”
The Hurricanes got on the board first by taking a tightly-contested doubles point. Junior Sinead Lohan and freshman Dominika Paterova topped Dasha Possokhova and Kylie Wilcox, 7-5, in the first completed match.
Sophomore Ana Madcur and freshman Estela Perez-Somarriba then earned 7-5 triumph over Lexi Borr and Jackie Urbinati to clinch the point. Miami took the final two games in each completed doubles match.
When play was halted, freshman Sara Culbertson and junior Silvia Fuentes were tied at five with Asiya Dair and Emily Safron, after fighting back from a 1-4 deficit.
Miami quickly upped its lead to 3-0 in singles play, as Fuentes and No. 34 Perez-Somarriba cruised to victory, combining to drop just five games in their two matches.
Fuentes clinched her contest first, notching a 6-3, 6-0 win against Possokhova. Perez-Somarriba then topped No. 110 Borr, 6-2, 6-0, in a ranked showdown, to capture her ninth straight decision.
Madcur sealed the win for the Hurricanes with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Safron, her seventh consecutive victory.
“We are focusing on starting the matches faster. We are focusing on being aggressive from the first point,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We did that predominantly. We did that on four courts today and the good news is the ones who didn’t start strong were able to find it. That was our focus coming into today’s match, playing on our terms, playing our tennis right away.”
When play was halted, Epstein was one game away from beating Urbinati, holding a 6-2, 5-2 advantage. In addition, Paterova held a third-set lead on Wilcox, 0-6, 6-2, 2-1, and No. 16 Lohan narrowly trailed Dair, 3-6, 4-1.
The Hurricanes, who are now 16-11 all-time in ACC Championship play, have won eight of their last nine matches this season, including six of seven versus ACC opponents.
As aforementioned, this marked Miami first shutout victory in the ACC Championship since 2009, when it was the top seed. That year, the Hurricanes registered 4-0 triumphs over both Wake Forest and Florida State.
Boston College was just the second double-digit seed Miami has played in ACC Championship action and the first it has defeated. This was the Hurricanes’ first meeting with the Eagles in the tournament and Miami is now 24-1 all-time against the Eagles with 16 shutouts.
“BC has some big hitters. They have some girls who can do some damage with the ball,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “So, we didn’t want to get pushed around and then have to make a change. We wanted to try and push them around, win or lose the points and force them to make a change. We were pretty successful doing that today and that is the focus tomorrow as well.”
Miami will return to the court Saturday at 1 p.m., against fifth-ranked and top-seeded North Carolina. The match will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra HERE.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
RESULTS
Doubles Competition
1. Sinead Lohan/Dominika Paterova (UM) def. Dasha Possokhova/Kylie Wilcox (BC), 7-5
2. Ana Madcur/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Lexi Borr/Jackie Urbinati (BC), 7-5
3. Sara Culbertson/Silvia Fuentes (UM) vs. Asiya Dair/Emily Safron (BC), 5-5, unfinished
Singles Competition
1. Asiya Dair (BC) vs. No. 16 Sinead Lohan (UM), 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
2. No. 34 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 110 Lexi Borr (BC), 6-2, 6-0
3. Dominika Paterova (UM) vs. Kylie Wilcox (BC), 0-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
4. Silvia Fuentes (UM) def. Dasha Possokhova (BC), 6-3, 6-0
5. Ana Madcur (UM) def. Emily Safron (BC), 6-2, 6-1
6. Maci Epstein (UM) vs. Jackie Urbinati (BC), 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
