Jan. 31, 2010

Duke Takes ITA Kick-Off Weekend Title
Facing the toughest competition it has seen this season, the Duke women's tennis team persevered to outlast 44th-ranked Virginia Commonwealth, 6-1, today at the Sheffield Tennis Center. With the win, the top-ranked Blue Devils advance to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 12-15 in Madison, Wis.

Duke continued to shine in doubles play, as the tandem of senior Elizabeth Plotkin and junior Reka Zsilinszka dispatched their opponent at the No. 2 spot, 8-2, in about 45 minutes. Sophomore Monica Gorny and freshman Jessica Stiles followed on court three, clinching the doubles point for Duke with an 8-3 victory.

After going back and forth at No. 1 doubles, the duo of senior Amanda Granson and junior Ellah Nze battled VCU's Josefin Hjertquist and Ana Bara to an 8-6 win. 

No. 7 Miami Women's Tennis Clips Mississippi State, 7-0
Senior Laura Vallverdu became Miami's all-time leader in singles wins for women's tennis on Sunday as the No. 7 Hurricanes women's tennis team defeated No. 57 Mississippi State, 7-0, in the Coral Gables championship qualifier of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

With inclement weather threatening the south Florida area, Sunday's championship match began with singles competition, followed by doubles.

Miami (3-0) opened singles play with three-time All-American Laura Vallverdu (No. 7) claiming her 111th career win at Miami, passing Audrey Bañada (2003-07) for the top spot all-time in UM women's tennis history for singles competition. The Valencia, Venezuela native was first off the court in singles courtesy a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Mississippi State's Olesya Tsigvintseva at No. 1 position. 

No. 10 Georgia Tech Defeats No. 34 Kentucky, 4-2
The 10th ranked Georgia Tech women's tennis knocked off no. 34 Kentucky, 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in the ITA Championship Qualifying Match at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.

With the win, the Yellow Jackets improved to 4-0 on the year, while Kentucky fell to 1-3 with the loss.

Georgia Tech got off to a fast start in doubles play by capturing the team point in a clean sweep of Kentucky. The team of Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn got things started on the right track with a shutout, 8-0 win in the number three spot over Kentucky's Nicole Scates and Megan Broderick.

#14 Clemson Women's Tennis Takes Down #20 Ole Miss, 4-3
For the second straight day, Clemson came from behind to defeat a ranked opponent, winning Sunday by a 4-3 margin over #20 Ole Miss at the Clemson Indoor Tennis Center. The Tigers (5-0) needed Estefania Balda's win at #6 singles to take down the Rebels in the second round of the ITA Kick-Off weekend, which feeds into the ITA Team Indoor National Championships.

Earlier in the day, #32 Illinois defeated #37 Texas A&M, 4-2, in the consolation match. The Tigers dropped the doubles point, but rebounded to win four singles matches to clinch the victory, Clemson's fourth against ranked opponents in 2010.

In doubles, Keri Wong and Ina Hadziselimovic moved to 5-0 on the season, upsetting the nation's 7th-ranked duo of Kristi Boxx and Karen Nijssen, 8-5 at flight one. However, Gabriela Rangel and Connor Vogel took down Ciolkowski and Henry at flight two. The doubles point came down to the third line, with Abby Guthrie and Laura van de Stroet edging Josipa Bek and Estefania Balda, 9-7 to clinch the doubles point. 

No. 17 Carolina Upends No. 6 Notre Dame, 5-2
No. 17 North Carolina rallied to win a critical doubles point and claimed four of six singles matches to earn a 5-2 upset victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in the final match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend Sunday afternoon at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. With the victory, Carolina earns a berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 12-15 at the University of Wisconsin's Nielson Tennis Stadium.

Neither UNC (5-0) nor Notre Dame (3-1) had lost a doubles point so far in 2010, and it appeared early on that the Fighting Irish would get the better of things. In a matchup of nationally-ranked tandems, No. 12 Kristy Frilling and Kali Krisik fought back from an early 2-0 hole to down No. 6 Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand, 8-4, at the top doubles position.

No. 22 Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston would pull the Tar Heels back even at No. 2, topping Cosmina Ciobanu and Chrissie McGaffigan in a tight match, 8-6. That left it up to the sophomore duo of Haley Hemm and Jocelyn Ffriend, who got off to a slow start and trailed 5-3. But the No. 28-ranked tandem won five of the final six games of the match to score an 8-6 victory and give Carolina the all-important doubles point. 

`Noles Punch Ticket To ITA Indoors With Triumph Over Ohio State
Although it’s only the beginning of the season for the No. 25 Florida State women’s tennis team (2-1), the ‘Noles are proving to be one of the nation’s powerhouses with a 6-1 victory over No. 38 Ohio State to advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the first time in FSU history. In the team’s second dual-match triumph of the season, FSU saw five Seminoles dominating singles after posting two doubles wins to earn the lead for the first time this season.

The Garnet and Gold began controlling the courts early by posting two doubles wins to earn the lead point into singles. Lauren McCreless and Francesca Segarelli dominated court one with a 8-2 win over Kelsey Haviland and Cami Hubbs, while Federica Suess and Katie Rybakova took care of business on court two with a 8-6 victory over Paloma Escobedo and Christina Keesey to clinch the doubles point. 

Virginia Tops No. 15 Fresno State 5-2
The No. 26 Virginia women’s tennis team rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 5-2 win over No. 15 Fresno State Sunday in the consolation match of the Fresno ITA Regional. The fifteenth-ranked Bulldogs are the highest ranked opponent the Cavaliers have defeated this season.

Virginia (3-1) got off to a strong start, winning the doubles point, as they have done in every match this season. After the Bulldogs won at No. 1 doubles, Neela Vaez (Perrysburg, Ohio) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) scored an 8-3 win over Julia Gragera-Cano and Bianca Modoc at No. 3 doubles. With the opening point on the line, Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) topped Laura Pola and Olga Kirpicheva 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, Fresno State drew even at 1-1 as Renata Kucerkova defeated Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) at No. 2 singles. Virginia retook the lead, 2-1, as Tomljanovic downed Modoc 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 5 position. Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) made the score 3-1 with her 6-7(8), 6-0, 6-0 win over Gragera-Cano at No. 6 singles. The match was clinched as No. 4 singles where Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) topped Pola 6-3, 5-7, 6-0. Fourth-ranked Anastasia Petukhova edged No. 72 Hardenbergh in three sets at No. 1 singles to make the score 4-2, before Vierra completed the match with her three-set win over Kirpicheva at No. 3 singles. 

Deacons Drop Matches at ITA Kickoff
Wake Forest finished play at the 2010 ITA Kickoff on Sunday, falling 6-1 to Yale, following a 4-2 loss to VCU on Saturday.

Senior Sasha Kulikova took wins at No. 1 singles both days, including a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Yale's 87th-ranked Stephanie Kent on Sunday.

Wake Forest will look to rebound when it hosts DePaul on Saturday, February 6 at 12 p.m.