Canes Trounce Wichita State

Appeared in the sports section of the Miami Herald


The UM women's tennis team reached the NCAA Round of 16, winning so quickly it didn't need to wait for a point from top-ranked Audra Cohen.
BY D. MICHAEL QUINONES

dquinones@MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/606/story/105946.html

The silence at University of Miami’s Schiff Tennis Center was interrupted only occasionally during the Hurricanes' 4-0 drubbing of Wichita State, a win that sends Miami to the NCAA women's Round of 16.

But only a fraction of the noise was provided by the audience. The rest came courtesy of No. 1 seed Audra Cohen, who vocalized her first-match frustrations.

''It's in my nature to play the first couple of rounds poorly,'' said Cohen, the top-ranked women's collegiate player in the nation, after her no-decision match against Wichita's Madina Rakhim. ``I could have gone more to her backhand, but I wanted to play more balls, play more tennis, and see if I could get into a groove.''

''She can play with anybody in the country right now,'' UM coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said of Cohen. ``She could be a pro.''

Leading 6-4, 5-4, Cohen's likely victory was rendered moot when No. 3 seed Audrey Bañada defeated Lenore Lazaroiu 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the win for the Hurricanes (21-6).

''This is my last match here [at Miami], and I really wanted the match point,'' said Bañada, a senior ranked No. 48. ``It wasn't really the pressure to win, but I wanted to finish up last.''

Her finish also curtailed teammate and No. 21-ranked Laura Vallverdu's match against Florentina Hanisch, a match that looked to be going Miami's way as Vallverdu led 7-5, 4-1 before the end-match.

In early action, Miami won the doubles point as Cohen and Vallverdu won the No. 1 slot 8-4, and Bañada teamed with Gina Sabatino at No. 3 to win 8-2.

The Hurricanes got singles wins from No. 5 Caren Seenauth and Sabatino in the sixth slot.
Miami will need near-flawless performances from its three top-50 players if it hopes to defeat Pac-10 powerhouse Southern California (19-4) in the sweet 16 on Friday in Athens, Ga.

''They can play with the top teams in the country, without a doubt,'' Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said of her fearsome troika.

The victory against Lazaroiu was Bañada's 108th career singles win at Miami.
''I think if we stay together as a team through the tournament, we can go all the way,'' Bañada said.