W. Tennis Goes 11-2 on First Day of 2018 Season
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Friday Results | Photo Gallery
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team dominated play on its home court Friday to open the 2018 spring season.
No. 19 Miami went 11-2 overall, including 8-1 in singles, on the first day of the Miami Spring Invite at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
“Awesome to be out competing. Your blood starts flowing when you’re out competing, so it’s nice,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I was really happy with the way we played today from top to bottom. I think it was one of our better starts to a season.”
The Hurricanes opened the day facing off against second-ranked Vanderbilt in doubles action. Sophomore Dominika Paterova and freshman Ulyana Shirokova logged Miami’s first victory of the spring, tallying a 6-2 triumph over Summer Dvorak and Amanda Meyer.
Junior Ana Madcur and sophomore Estela Perez-Somarriba started their season in style, winning five straight games to tally a 6-2 triumph over No. 19 Emma Kurtz and Christina Rosca. Freshman Pamela Richter, in her first collegiate outing, paired with sophomore Sara Culbertson to down Lauren Gish and Payton Robinette, 6-3.
The Vanderbilt duo of Fernanda Contreras and Emily Smith posted the Commodores’ lone win, topping senior Sinead Lohan and junior Daniella Roldan, 7-5.
In singles, eight Hurricanes played matches against No. 13 Ohio State, while a ninth took on a Vanderbilt player. No. 36 Perez-Somarriba dominated her match against Olivia Sneed, winning each of the first 11 games, en route to a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
No. 41 Lohan took down Anna Sanford, 6-3, 6-3, to earn the 111th triumph of her career, giving her sole possession of fourth place on Miami’s all-time wins list.
Shirokova followed that with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 victory against Danielle Wolf in her first-career spring singles match.
Madcur posted an impressive comeback win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, against No. 80 Shiori Fukuda to tally the fourth ranked triumph of her career, including the third over a top-100 opponent.
“I think Uly was a real pleasant surprise today. Uly was in a bit of a dogfight and she responded very well against a kid who had the ability to hurt her. So, I think she played well,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “For Ana to step up in the lineup and play the way she did [was great]. I was really happy with [her, Sinead and Estela], the veterans at the top.”
After Paterova downed Mary Beth Hurley, 7-5, 7-5, Culbertson completed an impressive 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Andrea Ballinger in which she won each of the first eight games.
Richter turned in a stellar 6-3, 6-1 victory against Hannah Cseplo and Roldan notched a narrow 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win versus Emma DeCoste to complete Miami’s sweep of the Buckeyes. Across the eight matches, the Hurricanes lost just two sets.
In Miami’s final match of the day, junior Sharon Danquah met Vanderbilt’s Robinette and dropped a 4-6, 7-5, 3-6 decision.
“Unfortunately, Sharon came up a little bit short, but she is playing some of the best tennis I’ve seen since she has been here. So, I’m really happy for her,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “For Pamela to step out after being here only like 10 days and be representing the way she did was great.”
The Miami Spring Invite will resume Saturday at 9 a.m., with the Hurricanes playing No. 21 Kentucky in doubles and then facing the Commodores in singles.
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
Ana Madcur/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 19 Emma Kurtz/Christina Rosca (VAN), 6-2
Fernanda Contreras/Emily Smith (VAN) def. Sinead Lohan/Daniella Roldan (UM), 7-5
Dominika Paterova/Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Summer Dvorak/Amanda Meyer (VAN), 6-2
Sara Culbertson/Pamela Richter (UM) def. Lauren Gish/Payton Robinette (VAN), 6-3
Emily Fanning/Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. No. 49 Anna Sanford/Olivia Sneed (OS), 6-3
Mami Adachi/Justina Mikulskyte (UK) def. Shiori Fukuda/Danielle Wolf (OS), 6-3
Emma DeCoste/Mary Beth Hurley (OS) def. Lesedi Jacobs/Diana Tkachenko (UK), 7-5
Singles Competition
No. 41 Sinead Lohan (UM) def. Anna Sanford (OS), 6-3, 6-3
No. 36 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Olivia Sneed (OS), 6-0, 6-1
Ana Madcur (UM) def. No. 80 Shiroi Fukuda (OS), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Danielle Wolf (OS), 7-5, 7-5
Dominika Paterova (UM) def. Mary Beth Hurley (OS), 6-4, 6-1
Daniella Roldan (UM) def. Emma DeCoste (OS), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Sara Culbertson (UM) def. Andrea Ballinger (OS), 6-0, 6-2
Pamela Richter (UM) def. Hannah Cseplo (OS), 6-3, 6-1
Payton Robinette (VAN) def. Sharon Danquah (UM), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
No. 19 Christina Rosca (VAN) vs. No. 26 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK), 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
No. 4 Fernanda Contreras (VAN) def. Justina Mikulskyte (UK), 6-2, 6-4
Emma Kurtz (VAN) def. Emily Fanning (UK), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Mami Adachi (UK) def. No. 96 Summer Dvorak (VAN), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Lesedi Jacobs (UK) def. Emily Smith (VAN), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Amanda Meyer (VAN) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK), 6-1, 6-3
Lauren Gish (VAN) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK), 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
9 a.m., Doubles: Miami vs. Kentucky (Courts 1-4) and Ohio State vs. Vanderbilt (5-8)
NB 9:45 a.m., Singles: Miami vs. Vanderbilt (1-4) and Kentucky vs. Ohio State (5-8)
