Perez-Somarriba Advances to ITA Fall Nationals Semifinals
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Friday Results | Thursday Recap | Wednesday Recap
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami women’s tennis team is moving on to the semifinals of nation’s premier collegiate fall tournament.
Competing at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, the second-ranked player in the country earned a three-set comeback victory and a dominant two-set decision Friday at the Newport Beach Tennis Club.
“Estela found her ball in today’s second match,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews sad. “She played clean, played on the baseline and was relentless. I’m looking forward to a fun semifinal showdown.”
The only competitor to reach the Round of 16 in all three installments of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, fifth-seeded Perez-Somarriba met No. 67 Bunyawi Thamchaiwat of Oklahoma State for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Thamchaiwat, seeded No. 16, took the opening set 6-3, but Perez-Somarriba rallied back for a win. The reigning NCAA singles champion narrowly took the second set and did not drop a game in the third to tally the 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 triumph.
It marked her second win over Thamchaiwat this fall, joining a 6-2, 6-4 result Sept. 28 at the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight in Orlando, Fla.
One of six seeded players to reach the quarterfinals, Perez-Somarriba met second-seeded Abbey Forbes of UCLA once there. The Madrid native dropped just five games against the ITA’s fourth-ranked freshman/newcomer, registering a 6-2, 6-3 decision.
With the two triumphs Friday, Perez-Somarriba is now 14-1 this fall, eclipsing her prior top fall mark of 12-2 last year. In addition, she now has 130 victories in her career, becoming the fifth player in program history to reach that mark.
Saturday, Perez-Somarriba will square off with either seventh-ranked and eighth-seeded Sara Daavettila of North Carolina or No. 49-ranked and No. 15-seeded Mia Horvit of South Carolina at 1 p.m. ET.
For more information on the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, including the tournament draws and live scoring links, click HERE.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FRIDAY RESULTS
Singles Main Draw – Round of 16
No. 2 [5] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 67 [16] Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (OKST), 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
Singles Main Draw – Quarterfinals
No. 2 [5] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. [2] Abbey Forbes (UCLA), 6-2, 6-3
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Singles Main Draw – Semifinals
1 p.m. ET: No. 2 [5] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) vs. TBD
