Jan. 26, 2012
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the fourth consecutive season, the University of Miami women's tennis team will serve as one of 16 hosts for ITA Kick-off Weekend this Saturday and Sunday. The No. 11 Hurricanes will be hosting Cal State Northridge, South Florida, and UC-Santa Barbara. Both of Saturday's dual matches are scheduled for 9 a.m. due to weather.
“There’s no doubt this is a huge, huge weekend for us,” Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I’m looking forward to watching our team compete against some top competition.”
The Canes, who are coming off an impressive performance at the FGCU Eagle Invite in their opening spring competition, will battle the Matadors of Cal State Northridge at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The winner will take on either No. 42 USF or No. 62 UCSB in the championship game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
In her eleventh year as head coach, Yaroshuk-Tews has her squad entering the weekend as the tournament's top-ranked team. Miami seniors Anna Bartenstein and Gabriela Mejia, who are both ranked in the Top-40 (Bartenstein at No. 15, Mejia at No. 39), are the tournament’s top two ranked players.
“It’s an honor to be picked as one of the hosts, it really shows how far we’ve come," Coach Yaroshuk-Tews said. "I made it clear to them, the reason we’re hosting is because of how much work others have put in before them. It’s now on our team to continue to uphold that tradition."
Behind Bartenstein and Mejia will be sophomores Melissa Bolivar and Brittany Dubins, alongside newcomers Lina Lileikite and Liat Zimmerman. All singles players finished in either first or second place in their singles flights at the Eagle Invite, including three championship performances. One of those titles was earned by Lileikite, one of two freshmen with whom the coaching staff has been impressed.
“Alex [Santos] and I were very stubborn with who we wanted to join the team, and we even got input from the girls on the team about it,” Coach Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I think Lina and Liat both fit our program very well, and I think they’re going to be key additions for us down the line.”
A win this weekend will earn the Hurricanes a trip to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the National Women’s Team Indoor Championships.
“A chance to play at National Indoors puts you with the best 16 teams in the country. That’s why everyone is there – to compete against the best,” Coach Yaroshuk-Tews said. “No matter how the team does at National Indoors, you come out of that weekend better than you were coming in, and that’s what we need.”
The Hurricanes open the weekend with their match against the Matadors at 10 a.m. The tournament’s consolation match is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m., while the championship is scheduled for 2 p.m the same day.
