Terriers Open NCAA Tournament at No. 11 Miami Friday Afternoon
May 14, 2010 | Women's Tennis
May 14, 2010
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The Boston University women's tennis team (11-11) will open the NCAA tournament with 11th-seeded Miami (17-5) Friday at 1 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Featuring four ranked singles players, the Hurricanes are hosting the Terriers for the second time this season and the first in postseason action since pulling out a 4-0 win in the 2006 NCAAs en route to finishing runner-up.
BU secured an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the America East title for the 17th year in a row with a 4-3 victory over Binghamton. Friday's contest will mark the program's 12th consecutive trip to the NCAAs.
Leading the way will be two-time America East Player of the Year Stefanie Nunic, who owns a 13-5 mark at No. 1 singles and two victories this season over ranked players from both Brown and Yale. Last season, she became the first-ever in league history to win both Player and Rookie of the Year honors at the same time.
She demonstrated her skills at the 2009 NCAAs by winning BU's second-ever set in postseason history against then-No. 11 UCLA by leading No. 15 Yasmin Schnack, 6-3, 2-5, before play was halted. Carrie Rose last captured a set for BU in 1999 against Pepperdine.
Nunic will be joined at the top doubles spot by freshman Vivien Laszloffy, who has a 6-7 record at No. 3 singles. The two women are 9-6 playing together but will face a difficult task of trying to defeat the sixth-ranked team of Laura Vallverdu and Gabriela Meja. That duo is 11-3 in the spring and 9-1 in the last 10 matches.
Vallverdu is also a three-time All-American and the Hurricanes' all-time wins leader with 125. Ranked seventh, she will face Nunic following doubles action.
Senior and 208 AE Player of the Year Francine Whu is one of many Terriers who has battled injuries this season but still managed to record a 6-13 record at No. 2, including a two-set win over No. 115 Anna Pieschl from Stony Brook during the semifinals of the league tournament.
A first-team All-Conference honoree, freshman Jessi Linero has an 8-3 mark at No. 6 singles and the team's longest active win streak with five matches, including a win against Miami's fellow conference member Boston College.
Sophomore Petra Santini improved to the America East's first team after being tabbed second-team last season. She earned Most Outstanding Player honors at this year's America East tournament by capturing the championship clinching point against Binghamton. Facing a break point on serve down 4-3 in the third set with the team score tied at 3-3, she won the next three games for the victory.
Also playing an important role in singles action was sophomore Monika Mical, who won her match over the Bearcats to improve her record to 10-3 at No. 5 during the spring. She along with Whu posted a 10-6 record at No. 2 doubles.
Besides Vallverdu, the Hurricanes have three other ranked singles players in No. 40 Bianca Eichkorn, No. 84 Anna Bartenstein and No. 113 Gabriela Meja. They also have another top-50 doubles team with No. 36 Eichkorn/Bartenstein.
The two schools previously met in January during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Having a depleted roster, BU dropped a 7-0 decision. In 2006, Miami pulled out a 4-0 victory in the first round of the NCAAs.
The winner of the match-up will face either South Florida or Texas A&M, who will meet at 10 a.m. The second round contest is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
