College Tennis News - Miami Suffers 4-3 Loss to No. 25 FSU

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -The 11th ranked University of Miami Women's Tennis team opened ACC play with a tough home loss to the visiting 25th ranked Florida State Seminoles at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Saturday afternoon.

Although the Canes (6-3, 0-1 ACC) got off to a strong start in doubles play with a two decisive victories, they were not able to close out the Seminoles (7-1, 1-0).

The 42nd-ranked doubles team in the nation, Miami's Stefanie Wagner and Line Lilekite, beat Florida State's duo of Daneika Borthwick and Kerrie Cartwright, 8-4, to secure the doubles point for the Canes. The most decisive doubles match, however, was on Court 2 where Miami's Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno dominated the Seminoles' Kristina Schleich and Francesca Segarelli, 8-2.

The Canes' good fortune seemed to continue as Wagner dominated her singles match against Florida State's Mia Vriens to turn in the first final score of singles competition with a quick, 6-3, 6-2, win. However, things got harder from that point as the Canes were only able to secure one other singles victory with Deborah Suarez outpacing Florida State's Schleich with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Albuquerque and Melissa Bolivar each lost heartbreaking three set battles in which they came back to win the second set but ultimately came up short.

Freshman Kelsey Laurente was locked in a tight battle of her own at the number one singles spot, with the score tied at 3. Although Laurente was up 5-2 in the third set, Florida State's Borthwick battled back to claim a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 victory.

Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews is confident Laurente will bounce back from this tough loss.

"Kelsey is an incredible competitor and tennis player. Today she struggled with nerves," Yaroshuk-Tews said. "A big part of sports is addressing problems and I have every confidence that Kelsey will move past the nerve issues and improve everyday like she has shown the ability to do."

Laurente, Miami's highest ranked player, is ranked 52nd in the nation for singles players and has shown the ability to compete with the nation's best. As for the rest of the team, Yaroshuk-Tews believes the team is ready for the rest of the season.

"We can either focus on being young or focus on getting better," Yaroshuk-Tews says. "I know the girls on this team are poised enough to know what they need to do to get better, and they also know that you need to work hard to get victories, especially when you play teams as good as Florida State."
Miami's next matchup will be at home, on March 3, against the No. 18 Clemson Tigers. The match will be at noon and will mark the fifth time this season that Miami will take on a tennis program ranked in the Top 25 nationally.

Singles competition
1. #35 Borthwick, Daneika (FSU) def. #52 Kelsey Laurente (UM) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6
2. #91 Segarelli, Francesca (FSU) def. Monique Albuquerque (UM) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
3. Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. #95 Vriens, Mia (FSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Sargeant, Amy (FSU) def. Melissa Bolivar (UM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5. Cartwright, Kerrie (FSU) def. #104 Clementina Riobueno (UM) 6-4, 6-2
6. Deborah Suarez (UM) def. Schleich, Kristina (FSU) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #42 Stephanie Wagner/Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Borthwick, Daneika/Cartwright, Kerrie (FSU) 8-4
2. Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Schleich, Kristina/Segarelli, Francesca (FSU) 8-2
3. Vriens, Mia/Sargeant, Amy (FSU) vs. Kelsey Laurente/Brittany Dubins (UM) no result5-2 loss to the Bears.
    USC was strong in doubles today, but fell just short in tough singles matches.
USC was strong in doubles today, but fell just short in tough singles matches.

Feb. 23, 2013

BERKELEY, CALIF. -- The No. 6 USC women's tennis team was upended by No. 7 host Cal in the teams' second meeting of the year today. The Women of Troy grabbed the doubles point, but the Bears were stronger in singles with USC's #1 Sabrina Santamaria and #23 Zoë Scandalis out of the lineup with injuries. USC goes to 8-2 with this loss to the Golden Bears in Berkeley.

Santamaria teamed up with teammate Kaitlyn Christian in doubles play as the nation's top-ranked double pair took down Cal's #27 Chi/Schutting on court one to secure the doubles point for the Women of Troy. A minor injury suffered during doubles play kept Santamaria from lining up for singles action. Cal's top gun Zsofi Susanyi -- tied at #1 in the nation with Santamaria -- also was out of the lineup for singles after an injury taken during Cal's match with UCLA yesterday. Susanyi did play doubles today, however, teaming with Klara Fabikova and taking an 8-6 loss to USC's Lao/Pulido on court two. The Trojans had opened the day on a winning note with DeSimone/Olmos' 8-2 win on court three to start the Trojan sweep of doubles play on the day.

In singles, however, Cal grabbed a straight-set win to even the score on #66 Lynn Chi's 6-4, 6-0 win over USC's #81 Giuliana Olmos, who was playing at the No. 2 singles spot for the first time in her career. The Bears' Alice Duranteau was able to stake a three-set comeback win on court six over USC's Valeria Pulido next, and Cal had a 2-1 lead on the visiting Trojans.

USC freshman Ellie Yates then tacked up what would stand as the Trojans' only singles win of the day when she topped Kelly Chui 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 5 spot to pull USC even 2-2. Three-set matches would be the story the rest of the way. #113 Klara Fabikova edged out USC's #60 Gabriella DeSimone in a tense one on court three to lift the Bears up 3-2 next. The clincher for Cal would come from the No. 4 spot, where Tayler Davis fought back against Kaitlyn Christian for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 decision that registered the win for the Bears. The last match going was on court one, where USC's #3 senior Danielle Lao had forced a third set against #12 Anett Schutting. Schutting would get the advantage in the third set, however, and finished off a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 decision over Lao to snap an eight-match win streak held by Lao and wrap up the match as a 5-2 Cal victory.

USC will next take a trip to San Diego next week for a 1:30 clash with the Toreros on March 1.

#7 Cal 5, #6 USC 2
Feb. 23, 2013 - Berkeley, Calif.
DOUBLES
(1) #1 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. #27 Chi/Schutting (Cal) - 8-5
(2) #48 Lao/Pulido (USC) def. #31 Fabikova/ Susanyi (Cal) - 8-6
(3) DeSimone/Olmos (USC) def. Davis/Posylkin (Cal) - 8-2
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
(1) #12 Anett Schutting (Cal) def. #3 Danielle Lao (USC) - 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
(2) #66 Lynn Chi (Cal) def. #81 Giuliana Olmos (USC) - 6-4, 6-0
(3) #113 Klara Fabikova (Cal) def. #60 Gabriella DeSimone (USC) - 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
(4) Tayler Davis (Cal) def. Kaitlyn Christian (USC) - 5-7, 7-5, 6-1*
(5) Ellie Yates (USC) def. Kelly Chui (Cal) - 6-3, 7-5
(6) Alice Duranteau (Cal) def. Valeria Pulido (USC) - 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4*, 1