Ranked No. 13 in the country, the Hurricanes opened the spring season ranked in the Top 25 for the 12th consecutive year. The Canes concluded play in the ITA Kick-Off at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the No. 41 Auburn Tigers to head to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, also for the 12th straight year. The ITA National Team Indoor Championship will take place from Feb. 5-8.
The Canes were seeded first in their group, which included Auburn, Middle Tennessee and Michigan State. The match began with the Canes duo of freshman Ana Madcur and sophomore Sinead Lohan losing their set 6-0. The Canes rebounded well, winning the next three singles points to take command of the match.
“We had a good little test, losing the doubles point and then having to flip the momentum against a very competitive Auburn team,” Miami Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said to HurricaneSports.com.
Sophomores Wendy Zheng and Silvia Fuentes and freshman Madcur all won their singles matches with ease, taking their matches in straight sets.
No. 9 Stephanie Wagner’s match went unfinished at the end of Sunday’s play with the senior leading 4-1 in the third and deciding set. The tournament was postponed one day after all play was cancelled Friday due to rain.
Prior to playing Auburn in the tournament, the Canes faced Middle Tennessee on Saturday. They won the match in a shutout 4-0. It was the 124th shutout for the Canes under Yaroshuk-Tews. Weather was not an issue for the Canes, despite the powerful winds.
The Hurricanes next face Georgia Tech at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.