W. Tennis Drops 4-3 Decision at Top-Ranked North Carolina
By Alex Schwartz
HurricaneSports.com
Match Results | Spring Stats | ACC Stats
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the second time this season, the University of Miami women’s tennis team came up on the short end of a 4-3 result against a top-three foe.
This time, No. 25 Miami (11-5, 4-4 ACC) fell on the road to top-ranked North Carolina Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Junior Estela Perez-Somarriba’s victory highlighted Miami’s day, as the third top-five triumph of her career was her 100th singles win overall.
“We played a heck of a match today, firing on all cylinders at every position except one. This is how we are capable of competing each time out,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “Youth is not an excuse for being undisciplined. Our expectations for this team are high and it’s time they meet our coaching mentality. We have the ability to end this season very strong if we can find today’s tennis and energy each time out.”
North Carolina (20-1, 8-0 ACC) struck first in doubles, as Sara Daavettila and Cameron Mora logged a 6-2 win over junior Yuna Ito and freshman Lucia Marzal.
Perez-Somarriba and sophomore Ulyana Shirokova evened the tally with a 6-2 decision against Makenna Jones and Alle Sanford, improving to 9-1 as a pair this spring.
Moments later, however, the eighth-ranked pair of Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham closed out a 6-3 victory over Miami’s No. 34-ranked duo of freshman Daevenia Achong and senior Daniella Roldan, putting the Tar Heels in front.
Ninth-ranked Daavettila started singles play by doubling North Carolina’s lead with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Roldan.
Marzal recorded the Hurricanes’ first point of the day with an impressive 6-0, 6-4 showing against Aney, a former top-20 player in the singles rankings.
No. 25 Morra increased the Tar Heels’ advantage to 3-1 by registering a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Shirokova.
Senior Ana Madcur countered by slicing Miami’s deficit in half with her first ACC win of the season, a 6-2, 6-2 result against Chloe Ouellet-Pizer.
Achong, down a set, nearly kept Miami’s hopes alive with a stellar effort versus third-ranked Graham. The Geleen, Netherlands, native took 5-4 and 6-5 second-set leads, but eventually fell in a tiebreaker by the slimmest of margins and dropped the match, 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), as North Carolina sealed the win.
Action concluded with a top-five showdown between second-ranked Perez-Somarriba and fifth-ranked Jones. After Perez-Somarriba won the first set, she rallied from a 4-5 deficit to force a second-set tiebreaker, which she took to register a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) decision.
“Estela hit a milestone today that was inevitable with her level of talent and maturity,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “I couldn’t be prouder of what she is doing.”
With the win, Perez-Somarriba became the 10th player in program history to reach triple-digit singles triumphs, including the seventh in Yaroshuk-Tews’ 18 seasons as the helm.
Miami now returns home to Coral Gables, Fla., where it faces Clemson Friday at 1 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
RESULTS
Doubles Competition
1. No. 8 Jessie Aney/Alexa Graham (NC) def. No. 34 Daevenia Achong/Daniella Roldan (UM), 6-3
2. Estela Perez-Somarriba/Ulyana Shirokova (UM) def. Makenna Jones/Alle Sanford (NC), 6-2
3. Sara Daavettila/Cameron Mora (NC) def. Yuna Ito/Lucia Marzal (UM), 6-2
Singles Competition
1. No. 2 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. No. 5 Makenna Jones (NC), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
2. No. 3 Alexa Graham (NC) def. Daevenia Achong (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
3. No. 9 Sara Daavettila (NC) def. Daniella Roldan (UM), 6-2, 6-1
4. No. 25 Cameron Morra (NC) def. Ulyana Shirokova (UM), 6-1, 6-3
5. Lucia Marzal (UM) def. Jessie Aney (NC), 6-0, 6-4
6. Ana Madcur (UM) def. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (NC), 6-2, 6-2
