Perez-Somarriba Makes Masters Final, Set for ESPN3/ESPNU
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Saturday Result | Fall Stats | Friday Recap | Thursday Recap
MALIBU, Calif. – Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami women’s tennis team is headed to the championship of one the nation’s premier tournaments.
The junior defeated seventh-ranked and top-seeded Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt, 6-2, 7-6 (6-2), Saturday at the Malibu Racquet Club to clinch her spot in the final. She will now play in the championship Sunday on ESPN3, with the contest re-aired Tuesday on ESPNU.
“[That match featured] two classy kids just battling it out. Estela stuck to her game plan in tough moments and physically raised it a level at the end of the match,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Tracy Austin in the crowd, the Pacific Ocean in the distance and Estela heading to the finals—fun stuff.”
With Austin, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former top-ranked player in the world, looking on, third-ranked and fourth-seeded Perez-Somarriba downed Contreras for the second time in 2018. The first victory came Jan. 20 in Coral Gables, Fla., on the opening weekend of the spring season.
Saturday’s matchup featured a pair of former NCAA Singles Championship semifinalists, with Perez-Somarriba advancing to the Final Four in 2017 and Contreras doing so in 2018.
In the tournament finale, Perez-Somarriba will play No. 41 Evgeniya Levashova, who attends school at one of the event hosts, Pepperdine. Levashova, seeded sixth, is the third seeded player Perez-Somarriba will face in as many matches.
The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live HERE on ESPN3. It will then be televised on ESPNU Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Oracle ITA Masters, including the complete draws, click HERE. Live stats for the tournament, which is considered one of the three major fall championship events, 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.
SATURDAY RESULT
Singles Main Draw – Semifinals
No. 3 [4] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 7 [1] Fernanda Contreras (VAN), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
SUNDAY SCHEDULE (live on ESPN3)
Singles Main Draw – Championship
2:30 p.m. ET: No. 3 [4] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) vs. No. 41 [6] Evgeniya Levashova (PEP)
