W. Tennis Edges No. 17 Old Dominion, 4-3

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It took three hours and 40 minutes, but it ended with a top-20 win for the University of Miami women’s tennis team on its home court.

No. 23 Miami (4-1) took down No. 17 Old Dominion, 4-3, Saturday afternoon, staving off a comeback bid by the visiting Monarchs to register its first ranked victory of the season.

“We need to use the momentum from this match moving forward,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We fought to the bitter end and we played some big tennis in the big moments. I’m proud of this team effort today.”

The Hurricanes dominated a pair of doubles matches to take the opening point. First, it earned an unblemished 6-0 victory from fourth-year junior Daevenia Achong and fifth-year senior Eden Richardson, together ranked No. 40, against Tatsiana Sasnouskaya and Alesya Yakubovich.

Sophomores Audrey Boch-Collins and Isabella Pfennig sealed the 1-0 lead with a commanding 6-1 decision against Marina Alcaide and Shahar Biran.

Miami’s third-year sophomore duo of Diana Khodan and Maya Tahan also held a lead, 4-3, over Yuliia Starodubtseva and Alexandra Viktorovich in the unfinished match. Starodubtseva and Sasnouskaya together form the third-ranked pair in the country, but Old Dominion (3-2) split them Saturday.

It took nearly two hours for a singles match to end, but when one finally did, it went to the Hurricanes, as No. 104 Achong topped No. 116 Sasnouskaya, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. The triumph in the lone ranked showdown of the day upped Miami’s edge to 2-0.

No. 71 Starodubtseva logged the Monarchs’ first point with a comeback victory over Richardson, rallying from a 4-6, 0-4 deficit to tally a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 decision.

Miami, though, regained that point just minutes later after Khodan, who won the first seven games against Yakubovich, held on to record a 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 result.

Old Dominion then took two matches in quick succession to even the score, as No. 106 Viktorovich defeated Boch-Collins,, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), and then Sofia Johnson narrowly topped Tahan, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

All eyes then turned to Court 3. There, No. 76 Pfennig held a 5-4 third-set lead after watching her 3-0 advantage become a 4-3 deficit before reverting getting back on track.

The Gauting, Germany, native closed out the match against Alcaide, posting a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback result to give the Hurricanes the 4-3 victory.

It marked the second 4-3 score in the past three outings for Miami, but this time it came out on top. Yaroshuk-Tews’ team took two of the four three-setters to garner the result.

The Hurricanes are back in action Feb. 20 at noon when they host No. 18 UCF in another top-25 showdown at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

RESULTS

Doubles Competition
1. No. 40 Daevenia Achong/Eden Richardson (UM) def. Tatsiana Sasnouskaya/Alesya Yakubovich (ODU), 6-0
2. Diana Khodan/Maya Tahan (UM) vs. Yuliia Starodubtseva/Alexandra Viktorovich (ODU), 4-3, unf.
3. Audrey Boch-Collins/Isabella Pfennig (UM) def. Marina Alcaide/Shahar Biran (ODU), 6-1

Singles Competition
1. No. 71 Yuliia Starodubtseva (ODU) def. Eden Richardson (UM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. No. 104 Daevenia Achong (UM) def. No. 116 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
3. No. 76 Isabella Pfennig (UM) def. Marina Alcaide (ODU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. No. 106 Alexandra Viktorovich (ODU) def. Audrey Boch-Collins (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Sofia Johnson (ODU) def. Maya Tahan (UM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Diana Khodan (UM) def. Alesya Yakubovich (ODU), 6-0, 5-7, 6-4