University of Miami Athletics

Michaela Kissell

Height

5-8

Class

Freshman

Hometown

Hostetter, PA

High School

Greater Latrobe HS

Fall 2008…
Began the year ranked No. 49 in the preseason rankings by the ITA … Posted a 10-5 record throughout the fall, including winning her last three matches–all at the UM Women’s Tennis Fall Invitational … Also won seven of her last 10 matches overall … Played doubles with a few different teammates to earn a record of 9-7 on the fall … Along with partner Laura Vallverdu, began the preseason ranked No. 15 in doubles play by the ITA … Had two wins over ranked opponents in singles play on the campaign … Fell in her first match of the year to Boston College’s Lana Krasnopolsky in a thrilling three-set match, 6-7, 6-2, 9-11 … Had back-to-back straight-set wins in the consolation round of the 16th Annual William & Mary Invitational, including a 6-4, 6-0 win in her very next match against Ohio State’s Christina Keesey … Had back-to-back wins with doubles partner Lauren Greco in Virginia while defeating Penn State’s duo of Lauren Holzberg and Sarah Lotto by a count of 8-1 … Defeated her first ranked opponent during the qualifying stages of the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships … Held off UCLA’s Yasmin Schnack (No. 35) in a three-set match, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the second round … Lost to Duke’s Tara Iyer (No. 60) in the next round, 5-7, 7-6, 1-6 … Alongside Vallverdu, helped to beat No. 4 Alex Haney and Melissa Koning (Auburn) in the quarterfinals, 8-1 in doubles action … The Miami team then knocked off the No. 10 duo of Arkansas’ Aurelija Miseviciute and Ela Kaluder, 8-6 … The UM duo ended their run in the semifinals to No. 8 Renata Kuverkova and Anastasia Petukhova (Fresno State), 3-6, 2-6 … Partnered with Vallverdu again at the ITA national Indoor Championships to claim a 1-2 record in doubles play … Collected their only win against the third-ranked (No. 3) duo from Duke in the form of Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang, 8-1 … Posted three big wins in the ITA South Regional in Athens, Ga. … Defeated Florida State’s Jessica Wente in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0 … Also downed Georgia State’s Diana Nakic, 6-4, 6-0 … Only loss came to Florida’s Marrit Boonstra (No. 67) in the quarterfinals, 0-6, 5-7 … After losing to No. 29 Andrea Remynse (UCLA) in the opening round of the Palm desert Classic, recorded consecutive wins … Wins included a 6-1, 6-2 straight-set victory over North Carolina’s Katrina Tsang (No. 23) … Teamed with Vallverdu to post an impressive 8-1 win in doubles play over No. 3 Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang in the consolation round … Held back FIU’s Priscilla Castillo, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, in her only match of the UM Women’s Tennis Fall Invitational … Had a doubles win also with Gabriela Mejia against FSU’s Jessica Wente and Bonny Davidson.

Freshman (2007-08)…
Shared time at the No. 2 and No. 3 position for the Hurricanes in singles play … Ranked as high as No. 49 throughout her first year … Tallied a record of 18-10 in her freshman campaign, including a 12-7 mark in dual matches … Went 7-4 at the No. 3 spot, while grabbing a record of 4-3 at No. 2 … Went 4-6 against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents … Posted a doubles record of 12-16 overall, and an 8-13 record in dual matches … Teamed with partner Gina Sabatino for a mark of 6-7, including a record of 2-4 at the No. 2 doubles position for the Hurricanes … Had a record of 5-4 with teammate Jenna Osborne … Went 2-0 with Osborne at the No. 2 position … Ended the year the playing her last 15 matches within the top 75 ITA national poll … After beginning her career dropping three of her first five matches, bounced back to win a phenomenal 12 consecutive matches … Earned her first ranking following a straight-set win (6-1, 6-4) at the No. 3 position against #7 California’s Cristina Visico (No. 54) … Defeated her first ranked opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 score over No. 55 Ragini Acharya (William & Mary) … Dropped her first spring match with a 1-6, 2-6 decision against Carolin Walter and #20 Florida State … Had a 6-1, 6-1 win in her only appearance at No. 4 against FAU’s Pia Terol … Dropped a tough three-set affair with Duke’s No. 14 Ella Nze, 7-6, 2-6, 0-6 … Defeated Wake Forest’s Christian Tara in the regular season finale, 6-7, 7-5, 1-0 … Won four straight doubles matches to start the spring season with partners Osborne and Sabatino … Collected a win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against Quinnipiac with partner Osborne picking up a 7-0 decision … Had back-to-back wins with 8-5 scores against Boston College at the No. 2 position, as well as Maryland at No. 3 … Went 3-3 in singles play and 0-3 in doubles action in her first fall season in Coral Gables … Ranked as the No. 24 doubles team in the country with Laura Vallverdu prior to the start of the fall season … Opened her UM career with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 win over UT-Arlington’s Monika Hadvigerova in the first round of the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational before falling to TCU’s Kewa Nichols in the second round in a close battle, 6-7, 6-7 … Split a pair of consolation matches at the event to a pair of opponents from Baylor, beating Zuzana Chmelarova before falling to Taylor Ormond … Lost to Melissa Koning of Auburn in the first round of the ITA South Regional but rebounded with a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast’s Maria Maggiorini in the consolation bracket … Teamed with Vallverdu at the Racquet Club Invite and lost in the opening round to the North Texas duo of Madura Ranaganathan and Amy Joubert … Also fell in the opening round of the ITA South Regional first round to Auburn’s Whitney Chappell and Gaby Beelen … Posted a 9-8 (8-6) victory with Osborne at the No. 2 doubles position against #31 Florida International.

High School/Prep…
Was a three-time state singles champion in Pennsylvania … During her prep career, she won five National Open singles titles including three at the 18 and under level and two at the 16 and under level … She also teamed with her sister, Joelle, to win a national doubles title at the 18 and under level … While attending Greater Latrobe High School, she did not lose a single match in her first three seasons before missing her senior campaign with an injury … Won the 25K Professional Wildcard Tournament in Allentown, Pa. on three different occasions … Also won two ITA college circuit tournaments.