W. Tennis Earns 5-2 Road Win at No. 30 Syracuse
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Match Results | Spring Stats | ACC Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team posted a 5-2 triumph Sunday afternoon over No. 30 Syracuse at Drumlins Country Club in its final road match of the regular season.
For No. 27 Miami (14-6, 7-5 ACC), the victory is its fourth of the year over a top-30 foe, including the second away from home and first in a true road match.
“We beat a tough Syracuse team today in conditions that were very difficult. The level of tennis was high, but most importantly, we didn’t get rattled mentally,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “This is probably the proudest I’ve been of this team all year. We stayed together as a unit, we brought some new points to the table and we simply competed hard.”
Syracuse (12-9, 5-7 ACC) earned the opening victory in doubles play, as No. 90 Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez narrowly edged Miami’s No. 17-ranked duo of freshman Daevenia Achong and senior Daniella Roldan, 6-4.
Junior Yuna Ito and senior Ana Madcur countered for Miami with a 6-2 victory over Dina Hegab and Guzal Yuspova to tie the doubles ledger.
Junior Estela Perez-Somarriba and sophomore Ulyana Shirokova sealed the Hurricanes’ doubles comeback with a 6-4 decision against Sofya Golubovskaya and Sofya Treshcheva, staving off two game points for a break to clinch it.
Achong logged the first win in singles play with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Golubovskaya after taking each of the last four games of the match.
Shirokova moved Miami within a point of victory by earning an identical 6-2, 6-4 result in her matchup with Libi Mesh. Hegab then got the Orange on the board by picking up a 6-1, 6-4 triumph against Marzal.
In a top-20 showdown, second-ranked Perez-Somarriba clinched Miami’s win with a narrow victory against No. 20 Knutson. Despite losing five deciding points in the first set, she won the opener in a tiebreaker.
Perez-Somarriba then rallied from 3-5 and 5-6 deficits in the second set to force another tiebreaker. Knutson staved off six match points before the reigning ACC Player of the Year wrapped up a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (9-7) win to clinch Miami’s victory and record her fifth top-30 decision this spring.
Shortly thereafter, Roldan registered the Hurricanes’ fifth and final point of the day in a tight three-set match with Tritou, posting a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 result.
No. 82 Ramirez picked up the Orange’s second point, capping the match with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory against Ito.
With the win, Miami improved to 11-1 all-time against Syracuse. It has held the Orange to under three points in all 11 of its victories in the series.
“We have definitely gone through some growing pains,” Yaroshuk-Tews said, “but I believe our best tennis is in front of us.”
Up next for the Hurricanes is a matchup with Louisville Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
RESULTS
Doubles Competition
1. No. 90 Gabriela Knutson/Miranda Ramirez (SU) def. No. 17 Daevenia Achong/Daniella Roldan (UM), 6-4
2. Estela Perez-Somarriba/Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Sofya Golubovskaya/Sofya Treshcheva (SU), 6-4
3. Yuna Ito/Ana Madcur (UM) def. Dina Hegab/Guzal Yusupova (SU), 6-2
Singles Competition
1. No. 2 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 20 Gabriela Knutson (SU), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (9-7)
2. Daevenia Achong (UM) def. Sofya Golubovskaya (SU), 6-2, 6-4
3. No. 82 Miranda Ramirez (SU) def. Yuna Ito (UM), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
4. Daniella Roldan (UM) def. Maria Tritou (SU), 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
5. Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Libi Mesh (SU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Dina Hegab (SU) def. Lucia Marzal (UM), 6-1, 6-4
