Nov. 8, 2009
Results
New Haven, Conn. -
University of Miami women's tennis senior Laura Vallverdu claimed the consolation singles title on Sunday at the ITA National Indoor Championships hosted by Yale University at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Conn.
Vallverdu, ranked No. 6 in the ITA preseason poll, used a straight-set win over Duke's Reka Zsilinszka, 6-4, 6-4. Zsilinszka, a member of the defending national team champion Blue Devils, entered the match ranked No. 13 in the preseason poll. The consolation singles title is the first of its kind for Vallverdu at the ITA National Indoor Championships after going 0-2 in last year's Indoor championships.
After falling in the opening round of main draw action on Thursday against Southern California's Maria Sanchez, Vallverdu tallied four consecutive wins en route to the consolation title. She ends the fall season with a record of 10-5.
"It felt good to come back from a loss in the first round and win the back draw after having a little let down," stated Vallverdu after the victory. "It was a positive weekend to end on a good note for the fall."
In doubles play, the Hurricanes duo of Gabriela Mejia and Vallverdu ended the fall season with a record of 9-1 after falling in Saturday's semifinals of the main draw doubles competition. The fall season served as the first time the two had played collegiately together on the court.
"I'm so happy Gabriela and I are developing into a very good and solid team," admitted Vallverdu. "It's great to see."
When asked about the play of her three-time All-American Vallverdu, UM ninth-year head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews praised the Valencia, Venezuela senior for staying focused after a tough loss to open the tournament.
"I think Laura got off to a slow start on the weekend, and every match after that was big for her," expressed Yaroshuk-Tews. "For her to salvage the weekend going unbeaten in consolations was a great way to end the fall season. She ended the weekend playing good tennis for us."
For complete results and event information, visit
www.itatennis.com.
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