Miami women’s tennis bounce back against in-state rivals, down shorthanded Florida State 6-1

Third-year sophomore Diana Khodan races to return the ball during the sixth game in the first set of her match versus Seminole redshirt senior Kianah Motosono at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

Third-year sophomore Diana Khodan races to return the ball during the sixth game in the first set of her match versus Seminole redshirt senior Kianah Motosono at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022.
Third-year sophomore Diana Khodan races to return the ball during the sixth game in the first set of her match versus Seminole redshirt senior Kianah Motosono at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

After a two-game road stretch in North Carolina last weekend – where the Canes beat No. 15 Wake Forest and narrowly lost to No. 2 NC State – Miami moved up two spots in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll to No. 12; its highest position since 2017.

UM showed why it deserved that ranking on Friday afternoon, comfortably defeating in-state rival No. 61 Florida State, 6-1, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables.

The Seminoles started the day at a grave disadvantage, with only five players available for action. As a result, sophomores Audrey-Boch Collins and Isabella Pfennig automatically won their doubles match by walkover.

Needing one more win to clinch the doubles point, third-year sophomores Diana Khodan and Maya Tahan, ranked No. 72, finished the job, throttling Victoria Allen and Kianah Motosono, 6-2.

The next match was played out, as the Canes’ best doubles pair of fourth-year junior Daevenia Achong and fifth-year senior Eden Richardson, ranked No. 16, bested Anna Arkadianou and Petra Hule, 6-4.

Fifth-year senior Eden Richardson and doubles partner fourth-year junior Daevenia Achong wait for the serve as they face senior Petra Hule and sophomore Anna Arkadianou during the sixth game of the first set of Miami’s match versus Florida State at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022.
Fifth-year senior Eden Richardson and doubles partner fourth-year junior Daevenia Achong wait for the serve as they face senior Petra Hule and sophomore Anna Arkadianou during the sixth game of the first set of Miami’s match versus Florida State at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

“[Our doubles’ teams] have been gelling well,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Against the better teams, we need to come out a little bit faster, but teams have been gelling well, complimenting each other well, and coming away with mostly wins.”

In singles, the Hurricanes dropped just three sets en route to a dominating performance.

First, freshman Tatyana Nikolenko won by walkover to put UM up 2-0.

On Court 3, No. 112 Pfennig made quick work of Olympe Lancelot, downing her, 6-2, 6-2. Moments, later Miami sealed the match thanks to Diana Khodan, who hollered “Let’s Go Canes” after recording a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Motosono to put Miami up 4-0.

Sophomore Isabella Pfennig returns the ball during the fourth game of the first set of her singles match against Seminole freshman Olympe Lancelot at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022.
Sophomore Isabella Pfennig returns the ball during the fourth game of the first set of her singles match against Seminole freshman Olympe Lancelot at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

Though the match was clinched, both teams decided to play out the remaining contests.

Miami’s highest-ranked player, No. 56 Achong, registered a sensational come-from-behind victory on Court 2, taking down Allen, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-3), in a match decided by a third-set tiebreaker to 10.

No. 58 Richardson, who moved up 23 spots in the ITA singles rankings this week, valiantly fought No. 16 Petra Hule before eventually losing 6-4, 7-5, to give Florida State its lone point of the day.

Finishing things off, Boch-Collins defeated Arkadianou, 6-3, 7-5, to make the final score, 6-1.

Sophomore Audrey Boch-Collins returns the ball during the sixth game of the first set of her singles match against Seminole sophomore Anna Arkadianou during Miami’s match versus Florida State at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022.
Sophomore Audrey Boch-Collins returns the ball during the sixth game of the first set of her singles match against Seminole sophomore Anna Arkadianou during Miami’s match versus Florida State at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

“FSU is a tough team; I don’t care if they are 6-5,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “They are good at the top of their lineup … so I think to get out there and take care of business, especially [on Courts 2 and 3] today, was big for us.”

“Obviously, there’s an in-state rivalry, so there’s a lot of fire, there’s a lot of energy coming from the opponent,” Yaroshuk-Tews continued. “You saw that today a little bit, but I thought we managed it well.”

With the victory, Miami (9-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) now moves to 37-9 all-time versus the Seminoles (6-6, 1-4 ACC), including 16-2 at home.

Back in the win column, the Canes travel to Blacksburg, where they will face Virginia Tech on Friday as part of their two-game Virginia road stretch. The match begins at 3:00 p.m.