Canes finish regular season, await ACCs

With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the sixth-ranked women’s tennis team awaits the ACC championships which will take place this weekend in Cary, N.C.

Miami (21-3, 10-1) stands atop the conference after yet another 7-0 victory this past Friday. Its victim this time around: host Maryland (4-16, 1-9).

For the third consecutive match and ninth time on the season, UM shut out its opponent with a score of 7-0.

Leading the way are Miami’s top four singles players, all of whom are nationally ranked.

Sophomore Julia Cohen, who is ranked as the fourth-best singles player in the nation, has won 15 straight singles matches and finished a perfect 11-0 in ACC play.

Two-time All-American and junior Laura Vallverdu, ranked 22nd, is on a six-match winning streak and looks comfortable behind Cohen in the lineup. She has fully shaken off the rust that appeared early on in the season from not playing much during the fall.

Sophomores Bianca Eichkorn (No. 27) and Michaela Kissell (No. 51) have won 10 matches in a row in the third and fourth positions.

The Hurricanes ride a 10-match winning streak into the tournament. Six of the 12 teams competing are in the top 25 of the latest Intecollegiate Tennis Association’s poll.

Seventh-ranked Georgia Tech (16-6, 9-2) handed the Canes their only conference loss back on March 7 in a 5-2 match on the road. However, that was a time before head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews had found a winning doubles formula which has pushed their play up to another level.

Despite dropping a 5-2 decision to Miami on March 22 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, Duke (20-3, 10-1), is ranked right ahead of Miami at No. 5 in the ITA poll.

INFO BOX
Team Conference Overall
Miami 10-1 21-3
Duke 10-1 20-3
Clemson 9-2 17-6
Georgia Tech 9-2 16-6
Florida State 6-4 13-6
North Carolina 6-5 16-9
Virginia 4-6 11-8
Wake Forest 3-7 12-10
Virginia Tech 2-8 12-10
Boston College 2-9 7-12
Maryland 1-9 4-16
NC State 1-9 4-16

INFO BOX
Singles
1. #4 Julia Cohen (UMW) def. Eleanor Peters (MD) 6-4, 6-0
2. #22 Laura Vallverdu (UMW) def. Michal Amir (MD) 6-0, 6-0
3. #27 Bianca Eichkorn (UMW) def. Karin Lundmark (MD) 6-1, 6-2
4. #51 Michaela Kissell (UMW) def. Lisa Miller (MD) 6-1, 6-2
5. Gabriela Mejia (UMW) def. Jordan Hansbrough (MD) 6-1, 6-1
6. Claudia Wasilewski (UMW) def. Oksana Krutiyenko (MD) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. #15 Michaela Kissell/Laura Vallverdu (UMW) def. Lisa Miller/Michal Amir (MD) 8-5
2. #47 Julia Cohen/Bianca Eichkorn (UMW) def. Julia Huschke/Karin Lundmark (MD) 8-2
3. Eleanor Peters/Jordan Hansbrough (MD) def. Gabriela Mejia/Claudia Wasilewski (UMW) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,1,5,3,6,4)