W. Tennis Starts Strong at USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s tennis team opened play Friday at the inaugural USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight in a loaded field featuring nine programs that ended the 2019 season in the ITA top 25.
The four Hurricanes on hand combined to post a 7-3 overall record on the first day of competition at the USTA National Campus, including a 5-3 ledger in singles action.
The Hurricanes got off to an impressive start with a pair of doubles victories against Ohio State duos to begin the day.
In a top-50 matchup, sophomore Daevenia Achong and senior Estela Perez-Somarriba, ranked No. 33, rolled past No. 49 Kolie Allen and Shiori Fukuda in the Doubles B Flight. Freshman Selma Cadar and senior Yuna Ito, playing together for the first time, edge Isabelle Boulais and Irina Cantos in the Doubles C Flight.
All four Hurricanes then logged wins in singles, while no other school sent even three players into the second round of the bracket.
Second-ranked and top-seeded Estela Perez-Somarriba, at the site of her 2019 NCAA title, defeated Cantos, 6-4, 6-2. Achong, ranked No. 80 and seeded No. 9-16, logged a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) triumph over Oklahoma State’s Alana Wolfberg.
Miami’s two unseeded competitors both tallied decisions over ranked foes. Ito downed Tennessee’s Kaitlin Staines, ranked No. 89 and seeded No. 9-16, in dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-4.
Cadar, in just the sixth match of her college career, notched her first top-25 victory, a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 result over No. 23 McCartney Kessler of Florida, the tournament’s third seed.
In the second round of action, just one Miami player, Perez-Somarriba, logged a victory. The Madrid native eased past UCF’s Nandini Sharma, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals.
Achong dropped a three-set decision to UCF’s Marie Mattel, 6-3, 0-6, 3-6, while Cadar came up short against No. 120 Rebeka Mertena of Tennessee, 2-6, 1-6. Ito put up a quality effort against eighth-ranked and second-seeded Anna Rogers of NC State, but fell, 3-6, 4-6.
Perez-Somarriba will face Oklahoma State’s Bunyawi Thumchaiwat, ranked No. 67 and seeded No. 9-16, Saturday at 9 a.m. in the main draw quarterfinals.
At the same time, in consolation north draw competition, Achong will square off with Tennessee’s Tenika McGiffin, while Cadar plays No. 49 Mia Horvit of South Carolina and Ito faces Ohio State’s Allen, ranked No. 61. Both Horvit and Allen were No. 5-8 seeds in the main draw.
Saturday’s slate will also include a second singles match for each individual. For more information on the USTA Fall Ranked Spotlight, including a live streaming link, 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
Doubles Flight B – Main Draw Semifinals
No. 33 Daevenia Achong/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 49 Kolie Allen/Shiori Fukuda (OS), 6-1
Doubles Flight C – Main Draw Semifinals
Selma Cadar/Yuna Ito (UM) def. Isabelle Boulais/Irina Cantos (OS), 6-3
Singles Main Draw – Round of 32
No. 2 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Irina Cantos (OS), 6-4, 6-2
No. 80 [9-16] Daevenia Achong (UM) def. Alana Wolfberg (OKST), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
Selma Cadar (UM) def. No. 23 [3] McCartney Kessler (UF), 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
Yuna Ito (UM) def. No. 89 [9-16] Kaitlin Staines (TN), 6-2, 6-4
Singles Main Draw – Round of 16
No. 2 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Nandini Sharma (UCF), 6-2, 6-1
Marie Mattel (UCF) def. No. 80 [9-16] Daevenia Achong (UM), 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 120 Rebeka Mertena (TN) def. Selma Cadar (UM), 6-2, 6-1
No. 8 [2] Anna Rogers (NCST) def. Yuna Ito (UM), 6-3, 6-4
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
Singles Main Draw – Quarterfinals
9 a.m.: No. 2 [1] Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) vs. No. 67 [9-16] Bunyawi Thumchaiwat (OKST)
Singles Consolation North Draw – Quarterfinals
9 a.m.: No. 80 [9-16] Daevenia Achong (UM) vs. Tenika McGiffin (TN)
9 a.m.: Selma Cadar (UM) vs. No. 49 [5-8] Mia Horvit (SC)
9 a.m.: Yuna Ito (UM) vs. No. 61 [5-8] Kolie Allen (OS)
