Marzal’s Top-50 Win Caps Day Two of Miami Spring Invite
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Saturday Results | Spring Stats | Friday Recap
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team continued play in the Miami Spring Invite Saturday at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Facing ranked teams in both singles and doubles, No. 17 Miami went 5-7 overall, with freshman Lucia Marzal’s top-50 singles triumph to conclude the day headlining the Hurricanes’ results.
“Coming into this weekend, we talked a lot about just the level of tennis and using these matches just to get better and get prepared for next weekend [when dual match play begins],” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We’re excited to have this level of tennis. We said coming into the weekend, we weren’t going to focus too much on the wins and the losses. Obviously, we’ve suffered a few more losses than we typically do, but, just like I told the girls, it’s about the process and it’s about getting better . . . There were definitely some positives, so I was happy with those.”
The Hurricanes opened the day by splitting their four doubles matches against No. 19 Northwestern. The Wildcats struck first, as Clarissa Hand and Lee Or notched a 6-4 triumph over the No. 51-ranked duo of junior Yuna Ito and sophomore Ulyana Shirokova.
Senior Ana Madcur and junior Daniella Roldan logged Miami’s first victory of the day, a 6-3 decision over Rheeya Doshi and Carol Finke. Freshman Daevenia Achong and junior Estela Perez-Somarriba followed that with a 6-4 triumph against Julie Byrne and Hannah McColgan.
Northwestern capped doubles play with the pair of Inci Ogut and Caroline Pozo tallying a 6-4 result against Marzal and fellow freshmen Carla Girbau.
Miami continued play with eight singles matches against second-ranked Vanderbilt. Seventh-ranked Perez-Somarriba first fell to No. 15 Christina Rosca, 2-6, 3-6, marking the first time she has dropped consecutive matches in the same season in her illustrious career.
In another ranked matchup, No. 82 Roldan came up short, 3-6, 3-6, versus No. 26 Amanda Meyer. After a valiant effort in the first set against sixth-ranked Fernanda Contreras, Achong dropped a 4-6, 0-6 decision.
Ito notched Miami’s first singles triumph of the afternoon, edging Summer Dvorak in a first-set tiebreaker and cruising through the second for a 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 final score.
“Yuna is really starting to play Miami-style tennis. I’m really starting to see her just buying in,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Daevenia played an exceptional first set against a top kid in the country and then, obviously, the kid ran away with the match.”
Facing No. 71 Carolyn Campana, Shirokova wound up on the short end of a 2-6, 3-6 result, while Madcur fell to Georgia Drummy, 6-2, 6-1.
Girbau got the Hurricanes back in the win column with the first singles triumph of her collegiate career, a superb 6-4, 6-4 showing against Emma Kurtz.
Marzal wrapped up play with Miami’s most impressive win of the day. After taking just two games in the opening set, she controlled play the rest of the way and took down No. 42 Emily Smith, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5), for the first top-50 triumph of her young career.
“Carla, for a freshman, to have the day she had today, was great [and then] I think Lucia had a little bit of a breakthrough there in her match,” Yaroshuk-Tews said.
The Hurricanes wrap up play in the Miami Spring Invite Sunday afternoon when they square off against Vanderbilt in doubles at 1 p.m. and Kentucky in singles at 2 p.m.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
SATURDAY RESULTS
Doubles Competition
Fernanda Contreras/Emily Smith (VAN) def. Tiphanie Fiquet/Akvile Parazinskaite (UK), 6-4
No. 26 Summer Dvorak/Christina Rosca (VAN) def. Alexis Merrill/Anastasia Tkachenko (UK), 6-0
Georgia Drummy/Emma Kurtz (VAN) def. Justina Mikuskyte/Brianna Tulloch (UK), 6-2
Clarissa Hand/Lee Or (NU) def. No. 51 Yuna Ito/Ulyana Shirokova (UM), 6-4
Daevenia Achong/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Julie Byrne/Hannah McColgan (NU), 6-4
Ana Madcur/Daniella Roldan (UM) def. Rheeya Doshi/Carol Finke (NU), 6-3
Inci Ogut/Caroline Pozo (NU) def. Carla Girbau/Lucia Marzal (UM), 6-4
Singles Competition
Justina Mikuskyte (UK) def. No. 100 Clarissa Hand (NU), 6-3, 6-2
Julie Byrne (NU) def. Lesedi Jacobs (UK), 6-4, 6-4
Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) def. Inci Ogut (NU), 6-3, 6-3
Tiphanie Fiquet (UK) def. Lee Or (NU), 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)
Caroline Pozo (NU) def. Diana Tkachenko (UK), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Vanessa Streng (NU) def. Anastasia Tkachenko (UK), 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
Carol Finke (NU) def. Alexis Merrill (UK), 6-1, 6-1
Hannah McColgan (NU) def. Brianna Tulloch (UK), 6-2, 6-3
No. 15 Christina Rosca (VAN) def. No. 7 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Fernanda Contreras (VAN) def. Daevenia Achong (UM), 6-4, 6-0
No. 26 Amanda Meyer (VAN) def. No. 82 Daniella Roldan (UM), 6-3, 6-3
Yuna Ito (UM) def. Summer Dvorak (VAN), 7-6 (9-7), 6-1
Georgia Drummy (VAN) def. Ana Madcur (UM), 6-2, 6-1
Carla Girbau (UM) def. Emma Kurtz (VAN), 6-4, 6-4
No. 71 Carolyn Campana (VAN) def. Ulyana Shirokova (UM), 6-2, 6-3
Lucia Marzal (UM) def. No. 42 Emily Smith (VAN), 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5)
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
9 a.m.: Northwestern vs. Vanderbilt (singles)
Noon: Kentucky vs. Northwestern (doubles)
1 p.m.: Miami vs. Vanderbilt (doubles)
2 p.m.: Miami vs. Kentucky (singles)
