Univ. of Miami (Florida) Team Page
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The 15th-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team continued its successful season with a breathtaking 4-3 victory over the 23rd-ranked Clemson Tigers Saturday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
The Hurricanes (7-3) got the match started off right taking two of the three doubles matches. The 43rd-ranked doubles pairing of Lina Lileikite and Stephanie Wagner took down Clemson’s Beatrice Gumulya and Tristen Dewar with a decisive 8-3 win.
Freshmen Kelsey Laurente and junior Brittany Dubbins clinched the doubles point with a narrow 9-8 victory over Clemson’s Liz Jeukeng and Ani Miao while both team’s cheered their teammates on from courtside.
The singles matches were hard fought, with Lileikite and Laurente falling to opponents who were ranked in the Top 30 nationally. Freshman Monique Albuquerque fought valiantly in the second set of her match, taking a 3-1 lead, before ultimately coming up just short against Clemson’s Romy Koelzer.
The Canes were not to be beaten on this day, however, as 91st-ranked Clementina Riobueno took her match, 6-2, 6-4, and Melissa Bolivar took down Miao to even things up 3-3 with Wagner’s match being the deciding factor.
Wagner took advantage of having the opportunity to be clutch for Miami, as she took the first set 7-5, and then cruised 6-3 in the final set. Said Wagner when asked what pushed her to victory over the 44th-ranked Gumulya today, “All of the girls were really supportive today and I think that’s what helped us get the edge in the end. We keep each other’s energy up.”
After another tightly contested match, the Canes are getting used to nail biters. “There’s a very fine line between winning and losing at this level, and that showed up today again just like it did last week,” Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We battled back from our tough loss last week and showed that this team has a short memory when it comes to tough losses.”
The Canes are heading to Atlant to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, March 9 at 12 p.m. as they continue their ACC schedule. Miami will be playing at home at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center again on Wednesday, March 27 as they take on the Bears of Brown University.
Singles Competition
1. #27 Yana Koroleva (CLEM) def. #110 Lina Lileikite (MIA) 7-5, 6-4
2. #29 Liz Jeukeng (CLEM) def. #74 Kelsey Laurente (MIA) 7-5, 6-2
3. Stephanie Wagner (MIA) def. #44 Beatrice Gumulya (CLEM) 7-5, 6-3
4. Romy Koelzer (CLEM) def. Monique Albuquerque (MIA) 6-3, 6-4
5. Melissa Bolivar (MIA) def. Ani Miao (CLEM) 6-0, 6-4
6. #91 Clementina Riobueno (MIA) def. Tristen Dewar (CLEM) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. #43 Stephanie Wagner/Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Beatrice Gumulya/Tristen (CLEM) Dewar 8-3
2. Yana Koroleva/Romy Koelzer (CLEM) def. Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) 8-1
3. Kelsey Laurente/Brittany Dubins (UM) def. Liz Jeukeng/Ani Maio (CLEM) 9-8
Order of Finish
Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,4,1,2,6,3)
