By Madison McKesson
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head women’s tennis coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews reached an incredible milestone Sunday, as she reached 350 career wins with her team’s 6-1 victory over No. 14 Wake Forest.
“If you know me and know how I approach each day, it’s something that hasn’t even been on my radar,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I’ve been so happy at UM and this is kind of home for now. I’ve been lucky to put together a long successful career in a city I love, working for people I love . . . and you don’t really think about the numbers until someone puts it in front of you.”
Yaroshuk-Tews gave thanks to her many teams over the years for helping her grow in different ways each season. She also talked about how forming personal connections with each player helps her coach the team every year.
“Each season I learn something new. I think if you really want to connect with your kids and if you want to connect with your team, you need to understand them first.” Yaroshuk-Tews said, “I’ve got kids from all over the world. I’m learning about different cultures, I’m learning about how people were raised—I’m learning so many different things—and I coach every single one of my players differently.”
She continued, “I think to get really good and to be really successful you have to be a lot more intricate with your coaching of these players and along the way comes a lot of learning. So, each day, I’m learning and that’s a really fun part of the job.”
A UM Sports Hall of Fame member, Yaroshuk-Tews was able to recall some of her most memorable victories in her 18 years at Miami.
“We took down the University of Florida, at Florida, [in 2004] when they were the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “They were undefeated at home in Gainesville for [a very long time]. I think we were roughly 30th in the country. A freshman from North Miami Beach [named Audrey Bañada] clinched the match.
“There have been so many great moments, great teams. Getting to the finals of the NCAA Tournament [in 2006 is one that stands out]. Even a couple years back, I think we kind of had a dinged-up team; we had a lot of injuries, but we had a lot of upperclassmen who just stepped up and were so resilient and tough. There have been so many incredible girls that I’ve had the honor of spending a lot of time with and hopefully helping just develop them into better people. It’s been a lot of fun, that’s for sure.”
Miami is currently 13-5 (6-4 ACC) this year. The return of ACC Player of the Year Estela Perez-Somarriba, a junior from Madrid, has no doubt helped Miami, as displayed with her top-50 win against Wake Forest. Senior Daniella Roldan and freshman Daevenia Achong also turned in a strong performance in doubles Sunday.
The Hurricanes are currently on a two-match winning streak and are looking to continue their run.
“Our goal lately has been truly to just get tougher, to get more mature, not to really focus on the wins and the losses.” Yaroshuk-Tews said, “The wins and the losses are just a result of taking care of the process. We were able to do that this weekend. I think that we’ve taken care of the process up to a certain point leading up to this weekend.”
Yaroshuk-Tews expressed a positive outlook moving forward on the season.
“When we started the year, the Sweet 16 was definitely something that we talked about,” the 18th-year head coach said. “We definitely talked about hosting couple rounds of the NCAA Tournament.”
The Hurricanes’ next match is Friday at No. 41 Boston College. They will look to carry their momentum from Sunday’s win into their upcoming matchup and secure win No. 351 for their coach.