An outstanding recruiter with unrivaled knowledge of the game and passion for teaching, the 2012-13 season marks the 12th illustrious year for Paige Yaroshuk-Tews as head coach of the University of Miami women's tennis program.
The program's all-time winningest coach, Yaroshuk-Tews has turned the Miami Hurricanes women's tennis program into a household name nationally, leading Miami to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" six of the last seven seasons. She boasts a career record of 223-66 (.772). Her desire to make the University of Miami into a national title contender on a yearly basis has seen the program flourish with All-Conference and All- America talent annually, as well as NCAA appearances in each of her 11 years at the helm. Yaroshuk-Tews annually brings in some of the top prep talent, reloading year in and year out for a program that is consistently ranked among the nation's best.
Since taking the helm of the women's tennis program at the University of Miami in 2001, Yaroshuk-Tews has led the Hurricanes on an unprecedented run in Coral Gables that has resulted in the team reaching at least the second round of the NCAA tournament each of her 11 seasons atop the program, including seven consecutive "Sweet 16) and four straight "Elite Eight" appearances. After back-to-back second round NCAA exits her first two seasons as head coach, UM has reached the NCAA quarterfinals six of the last seven seasons, including an NCAA finals appearance in 2006 - the program's first since 1985.
Miami has hosted an NCAA Regional eight straight years under Yaroshuk-Tews, while the Canes have turned in nine straight ITA Top 15 finishes and five Top 10 finishes the last six seasons.
Last season, the Hurricanes advanced to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, falling to eventual national champion Florida. Miami played host to North Florida and Utah in the Coral Gables NCAA Regional, winning both matches, 4-0. UM would advance to the "Sweet 16" where it would exact revenge on fellow ACC foe North Carolina. Miami would win 4-2, erasing the memory of a 4-3 loss to the Tar Heels in the regular season. Anna Bartenstein was named an All-American for the second consecutive season, becoming the 18th time that Yaroshuk-Tews coached an All-American at Miami, matching the school record also held by legendary coach, Ivan Duvenhage (1982-88).
In 2011, Yaroshuk-Tews led Miami on another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, winning the Coral Gables Regional before taking down Michigan in the Round of 16 in Stanford, Calif. The Canes finished the season ranked seventh nationally. Also in 2011, senior Bianca Eichkorn became the program's all-time winningest student-athlete en route to numerous All-America and all-conference honors. Among her honors, Eichkorn became the fourth UM player in the last seven seasons to be named ACC Player of the Year under Yaroshuk-Tews.
In 2010, she led the 'Canes to the NCAA quarterfinals and a No. 10 ranking at the end of the year. She also guided UM to a 20-win season for the sixth time in the last seven years, while three of her student-athletes - Eichkorn, Laura Vallverdu and Gabriela Mejia - earned All-America honors. During the 2008-09 season, Yaroshuk-Tews claimed her first ACC Coach of the Year award while leading Miami to the second-best record in program history (26-5), and capturing the ACC regular season title. She saw her team advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals, while also having Vallverdu advance to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championships. Yaroshuk-Tews had three singles players selected ITA All-Americans in Vallverdu, Eichkorn and Julia Cohen - with Cohen advancing to the NCAA Semifinals of the singles championships.
As a team, the Hurricanes rolled off an impressive 16-0 record at home in 2008-09, while also registering 12 consecutive victories leading into the ACC Tournament championship match.
In 2007-08, Miami finished with a 17-6 overall mark, snapping a string of four consecutive 20-win seasons. But, leave it up to Yaroshuk-Tews to master that into a great season. In postseason play, the Hurricanes flourished to yet another home regional title en route to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament before bowing out to No. 5 Baylor in Tulsa, Okla. The Hurricanes ended the season ranked No. 14 in the nation and No. 4 in the South region.
In that 2007-08 Sweet 16 march, Miami may-well have played their toughest schedule since the 2006 season. The Canes faced off against 18 nationally-ranked foes on the year, walking away with a 12-6 record against top-notch competition. Those teams include opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) which boasts one of the toughest conferences annually with almost every team ranked somewhere in the ITA polls at some point every season. The biggest accomplishment, however, may have been on Apr. 12 when the Hurricanes defeated No. 45 North Carolina State, 6-1, in Coral Gables to collect their 14th win of the year. With that win, history was made at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center as Yaroshuk-Tews etched her name as the winningest coach in program history with 132 career victories, moving past legendary former UM coach Ivan Duvenhage who spent seven seasons in Coral Gables from 1982 through the 1988 season. In just seven complete years, Yaroshuk-Tews has collected 135 wins in 178 matches, giving her a winning percentage of 76 percent (.758) at Miami.
Duvenhage still holds the all-time record for All-Americans coached (18) with players such as Jami Yonekura, Marlin Noriega and Cathy Richman all donning the Orange and Green during that span. Yaroshuk-Tews has coached nine All-America student-athletes, etching two-time recipient junior Laura Vallverdu as the ninth in the spring of 2008. In the category of All-Americans coaches, Yaroshuk-Tews stands all alone in second place until she catches Duvenhage.
During 2007-08, Yaroshuk-Tews led the Hurricanes to a 22-7 mark, the team's fourth-straight 20-win season and to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight season. In addition to the team's achievements in 2007, Yaroshuk-Tews also coached the program's first NCAA Singles Champion in Audra Cohen.
When the team won its fourth match of the 2007 season, a 6-1 win over No. 8 Baylor, Yaroshuk-Tews won her 100th career game as a head coach, becoming just the third coach in school history to reach the milestone. UM ended the 2007 campaign ranked No. 9 in the country, finishing in the country's top-10 for the second consecutive season. They also boasted a nearly perfect record at home in 2007 under Yaroshuk-Tews, going 17-1 with the lone loss coming to eventual NCAA Champion Georgia Tech, on April 21.
Prior to the 2007 season, Yaroshuk-Tews led UM to back-to-back regular season ACC Championships and consecutive ITA National Team Indoor quarterfinal appearances.
The 2006 campaign was a special one for the Miami program as the Hurricanes finished with a successful season posting a 24-7 overall record. With one of the toughest schedules the team has seen in the last seven years, Yaroshuk-Tews' squad came up with big wins against some of the nation's best teams. The Hurricanes went 5-3 against teams ranked among the top 10. Of UM's big wins under Yaroshuk-Tews, the Hurricanes defeated then No.3 Texas before capturing a win over their second third-ranked opponent, North Carolina. In the regular season finale, Miami took down ACC rival, seventh-ranked Duke. With the goal to remain on a winning path, Yaroshuk-Tews guided her team to the NCAA tournament where they upset second-ranked Notre Dame in the quarterfinals and third-ranked Southern California in the semifinals. Miami ended its impressive run at the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 loss to two-time defending champion and top seeded Stanford in the championship final.
Following their 2006 season, Miami's women's tennis team ranked fourth in the final Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the program's highest ranking since the 1987 season. For most of the 2006 season, the Hurricanes had been ranked among the top 10. Also in 2006, Yaroshuk-Tews saw two of her players garner some of the most prominent accolades in collegiate tennis, and permanently etch their names into UM's history book. Finishing the season as the No. 1 ranked player in the country going 34-2 in singles and No. 2 in doubles alongside Melissa Applebaum, Audra Cohen was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Women's Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, selected to the All-ACC team, earned her third and fourth All-America honors in singles and doubles respectively, and was nominated for the 2005-06 Honda Sports Award for tennis. Audrey Bañada was honored with the South Region ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, and earned All-ACC Team accolades for the second time in her career. Bañada finished 29-9 overall in singles and 18-5 in dual play, and 26-11 in doubles.
Miami women's tennis flourished in 2005 under Yaroshuk-Tews, earning a 21-5 overall record, marking the second consecutive 20-win season. Thanks to a stellar 2004 campaign, the Hurricanes were invited to the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships where they proceeded to upset then fourth-ranked UCLA, 4-3. During the season, the Hurricanes defeated North Carolina, then No. 9, and downed both Clemson and Duke twice a piece. The Hurricanes opened the season ranked No. 12 and shot up to as high as ninth in the ITA team poll and finished the season ranked 13th.
In their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (2004-05), Yaroshuk-Tews led Miami to a 9-1 record in league play, reaching the ACC Championship final. Miami earned a bid to host an NCAA Regional when the field of 64 teams was selected for the NCAA Championships. The ninth-seeded Hurricanes hosted California, Mississippi and Florida Atlantic in the first- and second-rounds. Miami fell to Cal in the Coral Gables Regional final, snapping a 27-match home winning streak.
The 2005 season also saw Megan Bradley become one of the most decorated student-athletes ever to play at the University of Miami. Bradley turned in a 44-2 record, a UM single-season record, highlighted by a 39-match winning streak. She was upset in the second round of the NCAA Singles Tournament, but finished the season with a No. 1 ranking--a spot she had held since March 8. During the fall season, Bradley captured the ITA National Indoor Championship.
After the season, Bradley was named the ITA National Player of the Year. Among her long list of accolades was being named the ITA National Senior Player of the Year, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and the ACC/UM Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bradley was named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. She also earned her fourth and fifth career All-American honors in both singles and doubles. Bradley and doubles partner Audrey Bañada, who received her first All-American honor, were seeded third in the NCAA Championship where they reached the quarterfinals. The feat marked the first time a UM doubles tandem reached the quarterfinals since the 1992 season.
In 2004, Yaroshuk-Tews guided her team to one of the most successful seasons in the history of Miami women's tennis. The Hurricanes finished with a 20-4 overall record and were ranked 15th in the final ITA poll. Under her guidance, the Hurricanes won their eighth BIG EAST title, earning them a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season. For her efforts, Yaroshuk-Tews was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year; an honor she also earned in 2002.
The Hurricanes were part of one of the biggest upsets in collegiate tennis during the 2004 season when they defeated No. 1 ranked Florida, 4-3, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. Miami had not defeated the Gators since the 1986 season. The Hurricanes ultimately advanced to the sweet sixteen for the first time since 1999 and defeated No. 11 Tulane, 4-1, to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1986 season.
In 2003, Yaroshuk-Tews led her team to a 17-7 record and an eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Her 2003 squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked 23rd in the country. In her first season as head coach, Yaroshuk-Tews, guided the Hurricanes to its seventh BIG East Championship title. The team finished with a 14-7 record while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Yaroshuk-Tews spent the 2000 and 2001 seasons as the associate head women's coach. Prior to joining the Miami staff, Yaroshuk-Tews worked at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Player Development Headquarters in Key Biscayne, Fla. as a traveling coach with the top U.S. junior players. Before her USTA appointment, Yaroshuk-Tews played professionally in satellite and challenger events. A Miami native and Killian High School graduate, Yaroshuk-Tews stood out among Florida juniors. In the Girl's 18 Division, she held a No. 1 ranking in Florida while being ranked No. 8 nationally.
Yaroshuk-Tews went on to star at UCLA where she was a four-year letterwinner and two-time NCAA All-American in both singles and doubles play. She played #2 singles and #1 doubles for the fourth-ranked Bruins. During her senior season, Yaroshuk-Tews won the PAC-10 Indoor and Outdoor Doubles Championships with partner Keri Phebus on the way to All-PAC-10 honors in both singles and doubles.
The Bruin's top-tandem was ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation during the 1996 dual match season, while Yaroshuk-Tews achieved a singles ranking as high as No. 13. In 1996, Yaroshuk-Tews was appointed to the Rolex/ITA Collegiate All-Star team. She was also honored her senior season with UCLA's "Champs Award", given to the school's most inspirational female athlete and was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Yaroshuk-Tews graduated from UCLA in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in sociology while earning PAC-10 Academic honors. She began UM's graduate studies program in Elementary Education during the spring of 1999.
She is the daughter of Ernie and Carol Yaroshuk. Her father was a member of the University of Miami baseball team from 1961-63, and was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame in 1992. He holds the third highest batting average (.448) in UM's single season history.
Yaroshuk-Tews was married on January 10, 2004 to Scott Tews. The couple has two children, Emma and Landon. Yaroshuk-Tews and her family currently reside in Palmetto Bay, Fla.
