The No. 26 Hurricanes Women’s tennis team (10-4) defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 7-0, and the Boston College Eagles 6-1, on Saturday at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The two wins improved the Hurricanes home record to 7-0 and ended a two game losing streak from a recent road-trip to Texas.
The Mountaineers (3-8) were little competition for the Hurricanes, who dominated them in every aspect of the match.
No.1 singles, Mari Toro, lead the way for the Hurricanes, overpowering her opponent, Anna Underwood, from the outset. Toro’s strong forehand shot seemed to take Underwood by surprise, who made several unforced errors as a result. Toro won the first set 6-0 in under thirty minutes. Toro, who was very aggressive in the first set, seemed a step slower and more defensive in the second set. The two players split the first six games, each taking three games a piece. However, Toro quickly rebounded in the seventh game, pouncing on forehand shots and volleying more at the net. She went on to win the next three games and the set 6-3.
No.2 singles, Marcy Hora, also beat her opponent in a resounding manner, 6-0 6-3. The South Florida native kept her opponent on her toes throughout the match with her spin volleys and baseline shots.
“Marcy has been playing banged up, so its nice for her to go out there and get a win under her belt,” said head coach Paige Yaroshuk. “But overall, I think all the girls played well.”
No. 3 singles, Stacy Stevens, No.4 singles, Sihem Bennacer, No.5 singles Ewelina Skaza, and No.6 singles Igna deVilliers all won their matches in dramatic fashion 6-1 6-2, 6-1 6-1, 6-0 6-1, and 6-2 6-0, respectively.
The Hurricanes No.1, No.2, and No.3 doubles won their matches 8-2, 8-4, and 8-0, respectively to complete the sweep.
“Its always nice to win after you lose a couple,” said coach Yaroshuk. “I think we are significantly better than West Virginia and we came out and just proved that.”
The Hurricanes perpetuated their good play against another Big East rival later that afternoon when they played host to Boston College. The match had been postponed from Friday due to inclimate weather. This was hardly a problem on Saturday, when humidity and heat proved to be the foe instead.
However, the Hurricanes did not seem to lose a heartbeat. Mari Toro improved her singles record to 9-2, as she once again crushed her opponent 6-4 6-0. While No.2 Staci Stevens, No.3 Sihem Bennacer, No.5 Sara Robbins, and No.6 Jessica Pelto, also decisively beat their opponents 6-1 6-3, 6-4 7-6 (10-5), 6-2 6-2, 6-1 4-6 6-0, respectively.
“We practice in these type of conditions everyday. If we ever complain about heat, our girls need to practice more,” said coach Yaroshuk facetiously.
Miami’s No.1 and No.3 doubles tandems beat its opponents 8-1, 8-1, respectively.
The Hurricanes will once again put their undefeated home record on the line when they will play host to UCF on March 31st.