Laura Danai
| School: |
Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Year: |
Junior |
| Home Town: |
Holyoke, Mass. |
| Home State: |
N/A |
| Home Country: |
United States(USA) |
| High School: |
Taconic |
| Height: |
5-6 |
| Weight: |
|
| Birth Date: |
Wednesday, January 20, 1988 |
| Dominant Hand: |
Left |
| Major: |
Biology |
| Singles Record: |
29-22 |
| Doubles Record: |
45-23 |
AS A SENIOR (SPRING 09 UPDATE):
•(2/1) Defeated Dara Lahens (Long Island), 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. Paired with Tanisha Hodgson at No. 2 doubles to defeat Ashley Harvey/Amy Hosotsuji, 8-3.
•(2/8) Paired with Tanisha Hodgson at No. 2 doubles to defeat Sarah Tremaine/Bethany Boyle (Fordham), 8-1. AS A SENIOR (FALL 2008): Finished the fall with a perfect 11-0 record (8-0 in doubles and 3-0 in singles) ... Recorded a combined 5-0 mark (3-0 in doubles and 2-0 in singles) at the Big Green Invitational (11/7-11/9) ... Singles wins came over Allison Haynes (6-0, 6-2) of Syracuse and Alyssa Carlson (6-3, 7-5) of Akron ... Teamed with Tanisha Hodgson in doubles, topping a pair from Syracuse (8-3), Akron (8-3), and Boston University (9-8, 10) ... Paired with Hodgson to win No. 2 doubles at UConn dual match (10/15), 8-6. Also was victorious at sixth singles over Alexa Gregory, 7-5, 6-2 ... Danai and teammate Maude Lecluyse, seeded No. 2 for second doubles at the Eastern Collegiate Invitational (9/28), won the bracket after four-consecutive victories ... First, the duo shut out a pair from Marist, 8-0 followed by a win over Lauren Hamilton and Emily Mannix of UMBC, 9-8 (2). Danai and Lecluyse then topped the third overall seed (Jurelle Mendoza and Robie Verano) from host Army, 8-0, before winning the championship match, 8-2, over the fourth seed (from Columbia). AS A JUNIOR IN 2007-08: Finished the year with second-most singles wins on the team, 17, to only 11 defeats. Finished with a 17-12 doubles record, 16 of them coming with Maude Lecluyse ... Efforts were rewarded at annual end-of-year banquet with both the Team MVP award and the coach's award, an honor given to the player that most exemplifies UMass Tennis ... Danai and Maude Lecluyse were leading their No. 3 doubles match, 6-5, in A-10 third place match vs. Richmond (4/20), but it did not finish ... Teamed with Lecluyse for an 8-4 No. 3 doubles win over Xavier in the A-10 Semifinals (4/19) ... Topped Saint Louis in third doubles of the A-10 Quarterfinals (4/18), 8-6. Grinded out No. 6 singles win to help lead the Minutewomen to the 4-3 win over the Billikens, 7-6 (4), 7-5 ... Paired with Lecluyse to win No. 3 doubles at Rhode Island (4/13), 8-5. Also dominated in No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-0 ... Along with Lecluyse, routed Quinnipiac (4/9) in third doubles, 8-2, while later impressing in 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles ... Teamed with Lecluyse for impressive 8-2 doubles win over Temple (4/5). The doubles point proved to be the difference in UMass' crucial 4-3 victory over the Owls ... Won at second doubles over George Washington (4/4), 8-3 and sixth doubles, 6-2, 6-2 ... Topped Long Island (3/29) with Lecluyse in No. 2 doubles, 8-3. Impressed at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-1 ... With Lecluyse, shut out Holy Cross (3/28) at No. 2 doubles, 8-0, and shut out her opponent at No. 5 singles, 6-0, 6-0 ... Was the only Minutewoman to win her singles match vs. Yale (3/26), topping her opponent at No. 6, 6-3, 6-2 ... Teamed with Lecluyse for 8-4 second doubles win over the College of Charleston (3/19). In the same match, grinded out marathon 6-4, 5-7, 14-12 No. 6 singles win for UMass' sole singles win ... One day prior, teamed with Lecluyse for decisive 8-2 third doubles win over Charleston Southern (3/18). Also won No. 6 singles match, 6-4, 6-2, to help Minutewomen squeak out 4-3 victory ... With Lecluyse, came out victorious in No. 2 doubles, 8-3, over Siena (3/8). Later cruised to 6-1, 6-0 win at the No. 5 singles position ... Won at No. 3 singles position vs. Army (2/24), 8-5 ... Battled for 6-3, 7-6 (6), 10-4 win at No. 6 singles at Cornell (2/16) ... Teamed with Lecluyse at No. 3 doubles for 8-4 win over Binghamton (2/15). Then cruised to 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles ... Was one of only two Minutewomen to earn points vs. Columbia (2/9), winning at No. 6 singles, 6-4, 6-3 ... Topped Fordham (2/8) at sixth singles, 6-0, 6-0 ... Finished the fall season with a 3-1 singles record and a 4-3 doubles record ... Won No. 6 singles and came in second in No. 2 doubles at the Big Green Tournament (10-26-28) ... Won No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles at the UConn Dual Invitational (9/26) ... Lost in the semifinal round of No. 2 doubles at the Eastern Collegiate Invitational (9/14-16). AS A SOPHOMORE IN 2006-07: Finished season with a 4-7 singles record and 17-6 doubles record, which was the best winning percentage on the team in doubles... Every doubles match was at the No. 3 spot ... Teamed with Maude Lecluyse to win in doubles in the A-10 Semifinals against Temple (3/21) ... Was a perfect 2-0 in singles and 2-0 in doubles on Day 1 of the A-10 Championships vs. Saint Joseph's and Xavier ... In the A-10 Quarterfinals vs. Xavier (3/20), won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 6 singles and 8-5 in doubles play ... In the Opening Round match vs. Saint Joseph's (3/20), won at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-0, and in doubles play, 8-2 ... Controlled play at No. 3 doubles, 8-1 in the regular season finale vs. Rhode Island (4/13) ... In doubles action, partnered with Stephanie Gimenez to come out on top vs. Quinnipiac (4/11) ... Teamed with Lecluyse to defeat Richmond (3/31) 8-2 ... Won at No. 3 doubles over Old Dominion (3/30), 8-6 ... Teamed with Michele Spiess for a grueling 9-7 doubles victory against Florida Atlantic (3/22) ... Also with Spiess, won at No. 3 doubles vs. Lynn University (3/19), 8-4 ... Teamed with Spiess to garner victory over Harvard (3/13), 8-2 ... Against Binghamton (3/10), won in doubles with Kristin DiPiero ... Was perfect vs. Hofstra (3/2), winning doubles match 8-0 and singles match 6-1, 6-0 ... Came out on top with DiPiero in doubles, 8-6 vs. Fordham (2/25)... Was up 3-2 at No. 3 doubles vs. St. John's (2/11) before the Red Storm had to back out due to injury ... In the fall, at the Brown Invitational (10/21), teamed with Carly Ludmer to defeat a pair from Rhode Island, 8-6 ... Also at the Brown Invitational (10/21), teamed with DiPiero to top a pair from Army, 8-5 ... Teamed with DiPiero to defeat Binghamton in doubles at the Cornell Blind Duals (10/14-15) ... In singles play, won 6-3, 6-2 ... Teamed with Ellen de Jong to win Group B doubles championship at Eastern Collegiate Invitational (9-15-17), 8-6 ... In the semifinals, defeated a duo from Army, 8-2 ... Advanced to semifinals of Eastern Collegiate Invitational by winning, 8-6. AS A FRESHMAN IN 2005-06 (AT SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY): Finished the season with a 15-9 singles record and 11-14 doubles mark ... Helped lead Sacred Heart to a third place finish in the Northeast Conference ... Was the singles champion for No. 3 in the New England championship. BEFORE COLLEGE: Won two letters at Timberline High School (Boise, Id.) and one at Taconic High School ... Was named Team MVP ... Received distinguished team scholastic and varsity letter award ... Played varsity volleyball ... Received hardest worker award ... Made Dean's List. PERSONAL: Laura V. Danai ... Born January 20, 1988 in Pereira, Colombia ... Daughter of Gustavo Murilo and Martha Maya ... Sister of Marcela Murphy ... A Biology major.
