Hurricane Headliners: Deisiane Teixeira

In Hurricane Headliners, Christy Cabrera Chirinos spotlights some of Miami’s top-performing student-athletes as they look to continue excelling in and out of competition.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Like many in her native Brazil, Deisiane Teixeira grew up playing soccer.

For most of her childhood, the sport was an outlet, an opportunity to connect with friends and, she hoped, to eventually, help her provide a better life for not just her, but her family.

Then, she decided to give track and field a try, hoping to participate in every event but one.

It turns out, that one event she wanted little to do with as a teenager would change her life.

“I started trying out all the events and the coach one day just decided to put me in javelin and said, ‘Let’s try it out,’” Teixeira recalled with a laugh. “I was like 14 and I hated it in that first moment. I was like, ‘I want to run. I want to do the long jump.’ But he said, ‘No, you’re going to do the javelin.’ And so, I stuck with javelin.”

About a year after that fateful conversation Teixeira found herself competing abroad. During a trip to Italy for her first international meet, she realized all of the opportunities competing at a high level could bring her.

It was an eye-opening experience she still hasn’t forgotten; one she still appreciates.

“The travel, the hotel experience, I hadn’t had anything like that in all my life,” Teixeira said. “My family came from a poor background, and it was hard to have things like that. When I saw the opportunities the sport could give me, I was like, ‘I think I like that. That’s a way to help my family’ and that’s when I started taking it really seriously.”

Teixeira’s dedication to the javelin and her craft have only grown and with it, the opportunities she hoped for have followed.

She has competed for Brazil at both the Pan American Games and the South American Games.

The sport brought her to the United States, where she began her collegiate career at Highland Community College. There, in 2021, she won a national championship, her throw of 49.51m then setting a new National Junior College Athletic Association Championship Meet record.

She’d spend two seasons at UNLV, where she earned first-team All-Mountain West recognition in 2023 before opting to transfer.

After a visit to Miami, and connecting with associate head coach Cory Young, Teixeira made the decision to transfer and become a Hurricane.

Now, she’s throwing at Miami, and breaking school records in the process.

“Miami was my first visit and the first time I got here, I was like, “I really like this place.’ When Coach [Young] took me to dinner with his family, it was right there that I knew I would sign with Miami immediately,” Teixeira said. “I don’t think any other coach would do that. … He made me feel like this would be the place, this would be like a family for me, and I felt at home when I came. Everybody was so welcoming. [Director of Track and Field & Cross Country Amy Deem]  was so nice. I saw how Coach Cory could make me better and that’s it. I was looking for a place that felt like home and also great coaches and I found that here, immediately.”

So far, things have gone as well – or better – that Teixeira could have hoped.

In her first outdoor meet as a Hurricane, she set a new Miami record with her throw of 53.98m at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in March. That performance earned her recognition as the ACC Field Performer of the Week, an honor she shared with teammate and fellow javelin thrower Devoux Deysel, who competes for the Hurricanes men’s track and field team and set his own school record at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational.

Having the opportunity to train alongside Deysel, Teixeira said, has been a boon, especially given that she’s rarely had the chance to work on a day-to-day basis with a fellow javelin thrower for much of her career.

“When I’m training with him, I always try to watch. For javelin, technique is very important. You know that saying, what a monkey sees, a monkey copies, something like that. I like to watch him because he has a good technique,” Teixeira said. “We work out together, so we push each other to do better every practice. He’s been great. Before he came, I didn’t have any javelin throwers [around me]. It’s awesome to have a teammate that supports you and helps you get better.”

Now, with the ACC Championships looming next week, Teixeira is looking to finish the outdoor season strong and build on the success she’s had early in her Hurricanes career.

At last week’s UNF East Coast Relays, she brought home another gold, this time with a throw of 48.29m. She has her sights set on even bigger numbers in Atlanta – and hopefully beyond that at nationals.

“I’m training hard to win. That’s my main goal. I know all the work I’ve put in and I’m still working. I want to get the gold,” Teixeira said. “I’ll do my best and trust in God. He’s going to give me the blessing … I’ve put in all the work. Now, it’s about the details. All the work has already been put in. It’s time to just trust the process and enjoy.”

As for the journey that’s brought her to this point, Teixeira said she couldn’t be more grateful.

“Sport has given me everything in my life, basically,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to come to the U.S., get a degree, help my family and do better as a person. I’m just thankful. If it wasn’t for this sport, I don’t know what I’d be doing. But it literally changed my life and my family’s life, too.”

Byrne Honored

Hurricanes golfer Sara Byrne added to her resume yet again this week when she earned the first All-ACC recognition of her collegiate career.

Byrne, who was also recently named to the Arnold Palmer Cup – a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the nation’s top collegiate golfers, is currently ranked the No. 24 individual golfer in the nation and sixth best in the ACC.

She has totaled six top-five finishes this season, including a pair of victories at the Pat Bradley Invitational and the Hurricane Invitational. She was fourth at the ACC Championship with a six-under-par score of 210.

Byrne and the ninth-seeded Hurricanes are scheduled to compete at next week’s NCAA Tournament at the 54-hole Auburn Regional.

Trio of Hurricanes Qualify for NCAA Championships

Three members of Miami’s women’s tennis team – Alexa Noel, Isabella Pfennig, and Xinyi Nong – will be competing in this year’s NCAA Individual Championships.

Noel, who is No.10 in the most recent ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, will be making her third appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship Tournament after earning the eighth overall seed.

As a top-16 seed, Noel has already secured ITA All-American status.

Pfennig, who is ranked No. 47, earned an at-large berth in the singles tournament, and will compete with partner Nong in the doubles tournament.

The singles and doubles competition is scheduled to take place at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma later this month.

This weekend, the 22nd-ranked Hurricanes will be in Gainesville making their 28th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Miami (11-7) is set to face No. 28 FIU in the Round of 64 on Saturday.