Perez-Somarriba Wins USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight Singles Title
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Sunday Results | Full Tournament Results | Complete Singles Main Draw | Fall Stats | Saturday Recap | Friday Recap
ORLANDO, Fla. – At the same site where she claimed the 2019 NCAA singles crown in May, senior Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami women’s tennis team earned yet another title Sunday afternoon to add to her crowded ledger.
The second-ranked player in the country took a three-set thriller, her fifth triumph in three days, at the USTA National Campus to win the inaugural USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight singles main draw.
“Great ending to a tough tournament,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Estela played very composed when she needed to. It was a physical match that went our way at the end.”
Top-seeded Perez-Somarriba dropped the first set in a tiebreaker to No. 79 Shiroi Fukuda of Ohio State, seeded No. 9-16. The two-time ACC Player of the Year and three-time ITA All-American then eased her way to a split and narrowly won the third set for a 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-5 result that took over three hours.
Perez-Somarriba moved to 8-0 on the fall, as well as 13-0 in her career at the USTA National Campus, with her decision over Fukuda.
Meanwhile, in doubles play to start the day, freshman Selma Cadar and senior Yuna Ito came up just short against Oklahoma State’s Dariya Detkovskaya and Bunyawi Thamchaiwat, 5-7, in the Flight C final.
Sophomore Daevenia Achong and senior Estela Perez-Somarriba, ranked No. 33, claimed the Flight B title via walkover, as No. 31 Marie Mattel and Rebeka Stolmar of UCF did not compete.
In her singles consolation draw final, No. 80 Achong fell just short against No. 61 Kolie Allen of Ohio State in a match that was tight from start to finish, dropping a narrow 6-4, 5-7, 0-1 (8-10) decision.
Cadar lost her decisive 10-point tiebreaker by an identical score, as No. 85 Marlee Zein of Florida earned a 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory. Meanwhile, in another consolation match, Ito fell to No. 23 McCartney Kessler of Florida, 0-6, 2-6.
Overall, Miami posted a 13-10 record at the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight, including an 11-9 mark in singles matches. The tournament featured 19 ranked singles players and seven ranked singles players from nine different schools, each of which finished in the ITA top 25 last season.
The Hurricanes will be back on the court Oct. 5-13 at the ITA Women’s All-American Championships, which are being held in Tulsa, Okla., for the first time.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
SUNDAY RESULTS
Doubles Flight B – Main Draw Final
No. 33 Daevenia Achong/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 31 Marie Mattel/Rebeka Stolmar (UCF), walkover
Doubles Flight C – Main Draw Final
Dariya Detkovskaya/Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (OKST) def. Selma Cadar/Yuna Ito (UM), 7-5
Singles Main Draw – Final
No. 2 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 79 [9-16] Shiori Fukuda (OS), 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-5
Singles Consolation East-Northeast Draw
No. 61 [5-8] Kolie Allen (OS) def. No. 80 [9-16] Daevenia Achong (UM), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
Singles Consolation
No. 85 [9-16] Marlee Zein (UF) def. Selma Cadar (UM), 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8)
No. 23 [3] McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Yuna Ito (UM), 6-0, 6-2
