Miami’s tennis teams enjoyed a clean sweep of Denver on Wednesday at Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Both teams were in top form after wins against the University of Tennessee and the University of North Carolina, respectively.
“We aren’t the same team we were in the beginning of the semester,” Audra Cohen said. “We are all playing as a unit. Hopefully we can take that confidence through the rest of the season.”
The women’s team improved its winning streak to nine matches in a row and ran its record to 12-3, 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its latest poll this week with Miami ranked seventh, the highest ranking for women’s tennis at UM since 1989.
“I have been around athletics long enough to know that it really doesn’t matter where you are in March; it matters where you are in May,” said Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews.
Yaroshuk-Tews said the coaching staff preached focus to avoid a let down.
Cohen provided a spark at No. 1 singles, winning 6-1, 6-1 over No. 89 Suzana Maksovic, Denver’s only nationally-ranked player.
“We are constantly preparing for the future,” Cohen said. “We are using this match as a warm up for our matches this weekend.”
This weekend includes a trip to Wake Forest on Saturday and North Carolina State on Sunday.
The men’s team dropped only one set against Denver. John Hoyes won the tiebreaker and match over Stever Flaks 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-6).
“We came off of a big win against Tennessee, a solid win for our program,” Head Coach Mario Rincon said. “There [could have been] a let down today, but overall our guys played great.”
The Hurricanes continue to improve as the season progresses, winning their last four matches and eight of their last nine. The win streak propelled Miami to No. 14 in the newest ITA rankings.
“We are probably going to peak at the right time, for the end of the season and the NCAA tournament,” Rincon said.
Rincon said he is getting his team ready for not only Boston College on Friday and Maryland on Sunday, but the rest of the season.
“We need to stay focused, healthy, take care of our school work and keep improving,” Rincon said. “Playing the top 20 programs, if you don’t improve week to week, someone is catching up to you.”
Denis Brown can be contacted at dbrown@umsis.miami.edu