Perez-Somarriba Reaches Round of 16 in California
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Thursday Results | Wednesday Recap
Palm Desert, Calif. – The two University of Miami women’s tennis players at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships split their matches Thursday.
Sophomore Estela Perez-Somarriba posted her second come-from-behind win in as many days, while senior Sinead Lohan dropped a three-set decision at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa.
As she did Wednesday in her opening match of the tournament, Perez-Somarriba fell a set behind against a top-50 opponent and then dominated the rest of the way to advance.
Perez-Somarriba, ranked No. 11 and seeded ninth, dropped just four games in the final two sets to take down No. 27 Felicity Maltby of Texas Tech, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
With the win, the 2016-17 ITA All-American is now 11-4 on the fall, including 5-2 versus ranked foes. Three of her triumphs have come against top-50 players and Maltby tied for the sixth-highest-ranked opponent she has defeated.
Lohan, ranked eighth and seeded seventh, took the opening set against Denver’s Julia O’Loughlin, but was unable to close out the match after that.
The Waterford, Ireland, native came up just short in a 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 decision to conclude her fall campaign with a 9-2 record.
Lohan’s defeat against O’Loughlin was just the fourth of her career versus an unranked player. Of the prior three, one was against a teammate and another was to the top-ranked player in the ITA’s newcomer list.
Perez-Somarriba will continue play Friday in Southern California, with action set to resume at noon ET. Her match time and opponent have yet to be set.
Additional info on the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, including 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.
THURSDAY RESULTS
Main Draw Second Round
Julia O’Loughlin (DEN) def. No. 8 [7] Sinead Lohan (UM), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 11 [9] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 27 Felicity Maltby (TT), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
