W. Tennis Posts Six Wins to Open ITA Regionals
By Alex Schwartz
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team opened play Friday at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships Presented by Oracle.
Held at the University of Georgia’s Dan Magill Tennis Complex, the tournament features players from 17 schools in Florida and Georgia.
Miami went 6-4 on the day, including posting a 5-4 mark in singles competition. All 10 matches were in main draw play.
“This is a great tournament to play a lot of tennis and continue finding areas in which we need to get better,” Miami associate head coach Laura Vallverdu said. “Everyone fought hard, but there were minor areas in which we definitely need to improve before January.”
Sophomore Estela Perez-Somarriba and junior Ana Madcur, seeded sixth in doubles, started Friday with an 8-5 triumph over Georgia Tech’s Victoria Flores and Nami Otsuka.
In the opening round of singles action, the Hurricanes posted a 4-1 record, with each win coming in straight sets.
In a pair of contests against players from UCF, No. 11 Perez-Somarriba, the top overall seed, downed Maria Martinez, 6-3, 6-2, while freshman Ulyana Shirokova defeated Emilia Granstrom, 7-5, 6-0.
Sophomore Sara Culbertson beat Lucie Renault of Stetson, 7-5, 7-5, and Madcur topped Lara Vovk of Georgia State, 6-0, 7-5.
Facing seventh-seeded Katarina Jokic of homestanding Georgia, sophomore Dominika Paterova dropped a 3-6, 0-6 result in her first match of the season.
Perez-Somarriba was the lone Hurricane to earn a victory in the second round, as she posted a 6-0, 6-4 triumph against Maja Ornberg of FGCU.
“Estela is playing good tennis and needs to continue staying disciplined,” Vallverdu said. “The same goes for doubles with Madcur.”
Shirokova narrowly fell to sixth-seeded Flores, the seventh-ranked freshman/newcomer in the nation, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 0-6, in a conference matchup.
Culbertson dropped a 3-6, 1-6 decision versus Georgia State’s Kristin Rehse and Madcur came up short against No. 15 Anna Danilina, seeded second, of Florida, 2-6, 1-6.
Action will resume Saturday at 9 a.m., with Miami’s doubles duo facing Ulyana Grib and Maryna Veksler of FIU. The winner plays again in the quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m.
In the second round consolation draw, Shirokova, Culbertson and Madcur all play at 10 a.m., facing Florida’s Peggy Porter, Florida State’s Nandini Das and North Florida’s Luise Intert, respectively.
Paterova squares off against Damira Muminovic of Georgia State at noon in the first round consolation bracket and Perez-Somarriba faces No. 111 Otsuka, seeded No. 10, at 2:30 p.m., in the main draw.
The full updated brackets and schedules for all three draws can be found HERE.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FRIDAY RESULTS
Doubles Competition – Round of 32
[6] Estela Perez-Somarriba/Ana Madcur (UM) def. Victoria Flores/Nami Otsuka (GT), 8-5
Singles Competition – Round of 64
No. 11 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Maria Martinez (UCF), 6-3, 6-2
[7] Katarina Jokic (GA) def. Dominika Paterova (UM), 6-3, 6-0
Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Emilia Granstrom (UCF), 7-5, 6-0
Sara Culbertson (UM) def. Lucie Renault (STET), 7-5, 7-5
Ana Madcur (UM) def. Lara Vovk (GAST), 6-0, 7-5
Singles Competition – Round of 32
No. 11 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Maja Ornberg (FGCU), 6-0, 6-4
[6] Victoria Flores (GT) def. Ulyana Shirokova (UM), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
Kristin Rehse (GAST) def. Sara Culbertson (UM), 6-3, 6-1
No. 15 [2] Anna Danilina (UF) def. Ana Madcur (UM), 6-2, 6-1
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Doubles Competition – Round of 16
9 a.m.: [6] Estela Perez-Somarriba/Ana Madcur (UM) vs. Ulyana Grib/Maryna Veksler (FIU)
Singles Competition – Main Draw Round of 16
2:30 p.m.: No. 11 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) vs. No. 111 [10] Nami Otsuka (GT)
Singles Competition – First Round Consolation Round of 32
12 p.m.: Dominika Paterova (UM) vs. Damira Muminovic (GAST)
Singles Competition – Second Round Consolation Round of 16
10 a.m.: Ulyana Shirokova (UM) vs. Peggy Porter (UF)
10 a.m. Sara Culbertson (UM) vs. Nandini Das (FS)
10 a.m.: Ana Madcur (UM) vs. Luise Intert (UNF)
