No. 13 Women's Tennis Takes down No. 19 Florida State, 5-2
March 19, 2010
Results | Complete Results (PDF) 
Tallahassee, Fla. – No. 13 University of Miami (9-3, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) claimed its sixth consecutive win on Friday, picking up a 5-2 victory over in-state opponent No. 19 Florida State in ACC women’s tennis action at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
Miami began the day at the No. 1 doubles position, using the nation’s seventh-ranked duo of Gabriela Mejia and Laura Vallverdu, for an early doubles lead, as the duo laid claim to an 8-1 victory over the team of Katie Rybakova and Federica Suess of Florida State (6-7, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Mejia and Vallverdu picked up their fourth win of the spring, moving to 15-5 overall on the year. Today was the first time the two paired together since the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.
FSU came back at the No. 3 position, as Lauren McCreless and Jessica Sucupira took down the Hurricanes’ Danielle Mills and Claudia Wasilewski, 8-3. However, the Hurricanes collected the doubles point courtesy an 8-6 win on court two from No. 64 Anna Bartenstein and Bianca Eichkorn, as the UM duo defeated Amy Sargeant and Francesca Segarelli.
In singles play, UM started fast with sophomore Gabriela Mejia (No. 107) walking off the courts first with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over FSU’s Amy Sargeant at the fifth position. Mejia runs her record to 17-3 on the year (11-1 dual), and posts her sixth consecutive win.
The Seminoles cut into the lead at the No. 4 position when Jessica Sucupira claimed a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of UM freshman Danielle Mills. The `Canes came right back on court six, watching senior Claudia Wasilewski turn in a 6-2, 6-3 triumph of FSU’s Federica Suess. The win for Wasilewski upped her record to 14-9 on the season (7-4 dual), while the Boulogne, France native laid claim to her fourth consecutive victory.
The Seminoles pulled together a win at the No. 3 singles spot as Francesca Segarelli took a 7-5, 6-3 win from Miami’s Anna Bartenstein (No. 62). Bartenstein’s loss was just her second of the spring, as she falls to 10-2 in the spring (20-4 overall).
The match now stood at 3-2 in favor of the `Canes.
UM won the match point on court two with All-American Bianca Eichkorn (No. 33) staying perfect in the spring via a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory over the Seminoles’ Katie Rybakova (No. 104). Eichkorn’s victory allowed the Tengen, Germany junior to move to 17-4 on the year, as well as keep her spring record unblemished at 12-0 – the only Hurricanes performer with the accomplishment this season. Overall, Eichkorn has laid claim to 13 consecutive singles victories dating back to the fall campaign.
The eventual 5-2 decision in favor of Miami came at the top singles spot with senior three-time All-American Laura Vallverdu, ranked No. 7 in the nation, walking off the courts with a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 come-from-behind win over Lauren McCreless (No. 27). The win for Vallverdu moves her to 22-8 on the campaign (10-2 dual), and was her seventh consecutive win. In the process, she moves to 13-7 against ranked opponents on the year.
“We came in here in an uncomfortable environment, but kept our composure and were able to do enough to get the win,” stated UM ninth-year head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews. “The last time we played here against FSU, they shook up the team with a rowdy crowd and a night match, and all the little things we weren’t used to. I’m proud of the way the girls handled themselves today, and they were able to come in here and get a road win over a good FSU team. It should certainly give them more confidence heading into the rest of our schedule.”
Three Hurricanes remained perfect in ACC play today, as Eichkorn, Mejia and Wasilewski improved their records to 3-0 against league opponents. As for UM, the Hurricanes turned in their 19th straight ACC win dating back to the 2008 season. Miami also ran its record to 25-4 all-time against the Seminoles, and has now won the last three matches in the series.
The University of Miami returns home for its next match at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Wed., Mar. 24, when the `Canes play host to ACC opponent Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. The match will feature two top-10 opponents at the No. 1 singles spot, as Laura Vallverdu (No. 7) will meet the nation’s top-ranked player – Irina Falconi, of the Yellow Jackets on court one on the grandstand side of the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
In looking ahead to the highly-anticipated match against the Yellow Jackets, Yaroshuk-Tews said not only her team was going to have to play great tennis to win, but her top player, Vallverdu, was going to have to play at the top of her game as well.
“Laura [Vallverdu] defeated a good opponent in [Lauren] McCreless today, but she’s going to have to play much better on Wednesday in order to beat a player like Irina Falconi,” said Yaroshuk-Tews. “Falconi is playing tennis at another level right now. Laura is going to have to play much better to beat her, and she’s going to have to do everything right, and not just compete.”
Admission to the match against Georgia Tech, as well as all regular season home matches at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, is free.
No. 13 Miami 5, No. 19 Florida State 2
Singles
1. #7 Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. #27 Lauren McCreless (FSU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4
2. #33 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. #104 Katie Rybakova (FSU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Francesca Segarelli (FSU) def. #62 Anna Bartenstein (UM) 7-5, 6-3
4. Jessica Sucupira (FSU) def. Danielle Mills (UM) 6-1, 6-3
5. #107 Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Amy Sargeant (FSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Claudia Wasilewski (UM) def. Federica Suess (FSU) 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: (5, 4, 6, 3, 2*, 1)
Doubles
1. #7 Gabriela Mejia/Laura Vallverdu (UM) def. Katie Rybakova/Federica Suess (FSU) 8-1
2. #64 Anna Bartenstein/Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. Amy Sargeant/Francesca Segarelli (FSU) 8-6
3. Lauren McCreless/Jessica Sucupira (FSU) def. Danielle Mills/Claudia Wasilewski (UM) 8-3
Order of Finish: (1, 3, 2*)
