@CanesWTennis Meets No. 1 Gators in NCAA Round Two
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nearly 13 years to the day after knocking off top-seeded Florida on its home court in the second round of the NCAA Team Championship, the University of Miami women’s tennis team will look to repeat history Sunday.
On May 15, 2004, the Hurricanes upended Florida, the undefeated reigning national champion, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. It still stands as the only time the top overall seed in NCAA men’s or women’s tennis has been defeated prior to the Sweet 16.
Playing on the road in the second round of the tournament for the first time since that very day, Miami will once again face a Florida team that sits atop the tournament seed list.
No. 28 Miami (13-11, 8-6 ACC), making its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Team Championship Round of 32, will take on the top-ranked Gators at 1 p.m. The Hurricanes, seeded No. 17-32 are 51-31 all-time in NCAA play, including 27-5 in the Sunshine State, with a 4-4 record in Gainesville, and 2-4 in true road matches.
Saturday, Miami, seeded No. 17-32, posted a 4-0 win over USF, seeded No. 33-48. Meanwhile, the Gators registered a 4-0 triumph against UMass, seeded No. 49-64.
The Hurricanes are 20-38 in the all-time series against Florida, including 2-5 in NCAA play and 5-20 on the road. Miami has advanced to the Sweet 16 each of the past 11 years, while Florida has done so 12 years in a row, good for the third- and second-longest active streaks in the country.
Miami has two singles players in the ITA national rankings, with junior Sinead Lohan at No. 21 and freshman Estela Perez-Somarriba at No. 40.
Meanwhile, in doubles, Lohan and redshirt senior Maci Epstein team together to form the No. 74 pair in the country.
Florida enters Sunday’s contest with a 24-3 (11-2 SEC) mark on the season and won the 2017 ITA National Indoor Championship. Six Gators appear in the ITA rankings: No. 6 Belinda Woolcock, No. 23 Josie Kuhlman, No. 31 Ingrid Neel, No. 44 Anna Danilina, No. 59 Kourtney Keegan and No. 88 Spencer Liang.
In doubles, Danilina and Neel check in at No. 11, while Keegan and Brooke Austin, the reigning NCAA Doubles Championship victors, are No. 20. Additionally, Kuhlman and Woolcock place No. 45.
Live stats and live video for Sunday’s match will be available HERE.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
