W. Tennis Opens Play at Texas Invitational
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Miami women’s tennis team started action Friday at the Texas Invitational.
The Hurricanes’ four competitors combined for a 4-4 mark at the Texas Tennis Center, including a 3-3 ledger in singles play.
Competition started with doubles action, in which both Miami duos received a bye into the quarterfinals. The top-seeded duo of sophomore Daevenia Achong and freshman Selma Cadar narrowly edged Texas’ Fernanda Labaraña and Marta Perez Mur, 7-6 (7-5).
In a match that will not officially count due to the combined opponent pairing, freshman Nada Dimovska and senior Yuna Ito fell to Tennessee’s Callie Creath and Rice’s Anna Bowtell, 3-6.
“I’m excited about how Daev and Selma played doubles,” Miami associate head coach Laura Vallverdu said. “I thought they played tough and disciplined, a very Miami style of tennis. Looking for a great day tomorrow as well, from both teams.”
The Hurricanes went 2-1 in the opening round of play in the Burnt Orange singles main draw. Top-seeded Achong, ranked No. 80, defeated Tijana Spasojevic of Texas, 6-1, 6-2, while third-seeded Ito edged another Longhorn, Perez Mur, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Cadar came up short in her matchup with Rice’s Priya Niezgoda, dropping a 5-7, 4-6 decision. Meanwhile in the White singles main draw, Dimovska fell to Linda Huang of Rice, 1-6, 0-6.
“Both Selma and Nada are continuing to grow and carve out their roles on this team,” Vallverdu said. “Looking for the learning curve to continue improving, so tomorrow is another opportunity [for that].”
Neither Cadar nor Dimovska had a second singles match Friday, but Achong and Ito each did. The former registered a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Rice’s Bowtell, while Ito dropped a narrow 6-7 (5-7), 3-6 match to Texas A&M’s Dorthea Faa-Hviding.
“Daev did a great job taking care of the controllables and making her singles matches look exactly how she wanted. When she does that, no matter who her opponent is, Daev is predominantly successful,” Vallverdu said. “Yuna needs to continue to work on her mental consistency in her approach to every point. That, together with the explosiveness and knowledge of the court angles that she has, are very dangerous assets.”
Saturday, Achong meets Faa-Hviding in the main draw semifinals, while Ito plays Bowtell and Cadar takes on a to-be-determined opponent in consolation action. Dimovska’s next opponent is to be determined, as are the matchups both doubles pairs and the times for all contests.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FRIDAY RESULTS
Doubles – Main Draw Quarterfinals
[1] Daevenia Achong/Selma Cadar (UM) def. Fernanda Labraña/Marta Perez Mur (TX), 7-6 (7-5)
Callie Creath(TN)/Anna Bowtell (RICE) def. Nada Dimovska/Yuna Ito (UM), 6-3
Burnt Orange Singles Flight – Main Draw Round of 16
No. 80 [1] Daevenia Achong (UM) def. Tijana Spasojevic (TX), 6-1, 6-2
Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Selma Cadar (UM), 7-5, 6-4
[3] Yuna Ito (UM) def. Marta Perez Mur (TX), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
White Singles Flight – Main Draw Quarterfinals
Linda Huang (RICE) def. Nada Dimovska (UM), 6-1, 6-0
Burnt Orange Singles Flight – Main Draw Quarterfinals
No. 80 [1] Daevenia Achong (UM) def. Anna Bowtell (RICE), 6-4, 6-3
Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAM) def. [3] Yuna Ito (UM), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Doubles – Main Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: [1] Daevenia Achong/Selma Cadar (UM) vs. TBD
Doubles – Consolation Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: Nada Dimovska/Yuna Ito (UM) vs. TBD
Burnt Orange Singles Flight – Main Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: No. 80 [1] Daevenia Achong (UM) vs. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAM)
Burnt Orange Singles Flight – Consolation North Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: Yuna Ito (UM) vs. Anna Bowtell (RICE)
Burnt Orange Singles Flight – Consolation West Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: Selma Cadar (UM) vs. TBD
White Singles Flight – Consolation North Draw Semifinals
Time TBD: Nada Dimovska (UM) vs. TBD
