Miami women’s tennis wins fifth straight, downs Clemson 6-1
As Miami walked onto the courts Sunday afternoon, something was noticeably different about its uniforms. In a moving gesture, the whole team wore shirts emblazoned with the outline of Ukraine, filled in with the country’s colors of blue and yellow, in solidarity with fellow teammate Diana Khodan, a native Ukrainian.
Feeling a strong bond amongst themselves, the Canes worked together to beat Clemson, 6-1, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, continuing their ACC dominance. With the victory, No. 15 Miami (7-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) now has a 21-match winning streak over the Tigers (6-4, 0-2 ACC), dating back to 2001.
“I saw us making some changes from Friday night that we needed to make,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We’re staying really calm in pressure situations. Whenever you have any ACC match, it’s a pressure situation.”
“I just think that the girls are staying calm and being coachable,” Yaroshuk-Tews continued. “They’re talking on changeovers; they’re making adjustments and they’re being super mature.”
In doubles play, the Hurricanes quickly earned their first point.
UM’s No. 38-ranked pair of Diana Khodan and Maya Tahan easily took their match, 6-2. Moments later, fourth-year junior Daevenia Achong and fifth-year senior Eden Richardson, ranked No. 40, followed suit, comfortably winning 6-3.
Up 1-0, the Hurricanes turned their attention to singles, where they only dropped one match.
First, Khodan rolled past sophomore Samantha Buyckx, losing only one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
On Court 2, No. 67 Achong topped No. 123 Eleni Louka, 6-3, 6-0. With three points, Tahan then bested Ali DeSpain, 6-0, 6-2, to clinch the match for Miami.
The remaining matches were played out, and sophomore Audrey Boch-Collins wrapped up first, extending UM’s lead to five with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Medvedeva.
UM’s lone loss came at the hands of sophomore Jenna Thompson, who upset No. 85 Isabella Pfennig, 6-4, 6-4.
To finish the day, it took two tiebreaker sets for No. 81 Richardson to overcome No. 109 Cristina Mayorova, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), giving the Canes a 6-1 final score.
“I’m really happy for [Richardson],” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She was a little upset after her match Friday night. She has been playing some tight matches and has not been coming out on the right side of them. We had a good conversation Saturday. She came out here and played with a clear head.”
With the conclusion of its four-match homestand, Miami travels to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a top-20 matchup against No. 18 Wake Forest on Friday at 5 p.m.
