Audra Cohen defeated the University of Southern California’s Lindsey Nelson Monday night, 7-5, 6-2, to capture the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Singles Championship Monday night.
Cohen, ranked No. 1 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association throughout the entire season, defeated five opponents to get to the final against Nelson.
In three previous matches, Cohen defeated Nelson twice, including a three-set victory in this year’s team competition. However, it was Nelson who knocked Cohen out of the singles competition last year. Ultimately, it was Cohen who had the last laugh.
No Miami woman had ever reached the NCAA singles final, but it was in fact Cohen’s second trip. A transfer from Northwestern following the 2004-2005 season, Cohen was defeated in the 2005 final by Baylor University’s Zuzana Zemenova.
Cohen, a junior from Plantation, Fla., has twice been named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year. A champion of the ITA Indoors competition, this is Cohen’s and Miami’s first women’s NCAA championship.
Matthew Bunch may be contacted at m.bunch@umiami.edu.