Univ. of Miami (Florida) Team Page
CORAL GABLES Fla.- The No. 6 University of Miami women's tennis team played its first of two road ACC matchups of the weekend, today against Wake Forest and it was the Hurricanes on top of the Demon Deacons 5-2.
Even though it was a beautiful day in Miami, severe thunderstorm warnings up in Winston-Salem, NC forced the match indoors.
“Today was a little different in terms of match conditions,” said coach Yaroshuk-Tews. “Our momentum was questionable from a team standpoint but we managed to get the job done as a unit.”
Wake Forest would field only four players, and therefore surrendered the No. 3 doubles position, along with the No. 5 and No. 6 singles points, to give UM an uncontested 2-0 lead.
With Anna Bartenstein and Brittany Dubins as spectators, both doubles teams picked up 8-5 victories. It would be the Bolivar/Zimmerman tandem that finished first against NC State's Brigita Bercyte and Ryann Cutillo at No. 2, and Mejia/Lilekite followed close behind against Kayla Duncan and Rebecca Singler at No. 1.
In singles, Lina Lilekite would turn over No. 3 duties to fellow freshman Liat Zimmerman and the Yehud, Israel native was quick to seal the victory for the Canes with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Rebecca Siegler.
At No. 4, Melissa Bolivar would watch as sophomore Brittany Dubins got to work against Brigita Bercyte. Dubins would earn her first career win at the No. 4 position as she defeated Bercyte 6-2, 6-0.
With the match decided, Wake Forest would turn things around at the top of the singles lineup, winning incredibly close matches at No. 1 and No. 2. It would come down to the wire, as Bartenstein and Mejia both traded sets before falling in the third 10-8. Bartenstein's loss was the first in her last 11 decisions, and Mejia's was only her second of the season.
The Hurricanes will now make the short 100-mile trip to Raleigh, NC to take on the NC State Wolfpack tomorrow at 1 p.m.
“NC State will definitely be ready for us tomorrow, which is exactly what we need in order keep getting tougher as a team,” commented coach Yaroshuk-Tews on the Canes next opponent. “We definitely need to be ready to come out of the gates with high energy from the start.”
