Miami University
Western Michigan (Championship)
MAC CHAMPIONS: Miami Earns First-Ever NCAA Bid
4/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2009
PERRYSBURG, Ohio -- Top-seeded Miami earned its first-ever berth in the NCAA Tennis Championship with a 4-0 Mid-American Conference Championship match win over No. 3 Western Michigan. The victory was the 12th in a row for the RedHawks and the marked the first tournament title since 1998.
Miami (16-6) picked up the doubles point for the 13th time in 14 matches. Riekie Honiball and Brintney Larson posted an 8-2 win at No. 3 to get it started, opening a 3-0 lead, then winning four straight games at 4-2. All-tournament team members Megan Martzolf and Stephanie Danesis were up 4-3, then won four of the next five games for an 8-4 victory. Monica Gorny and Anastasia Dracheva were up 7-3, 15-0 when play was halted.
Martzolf gave Miami a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 4, then No. 2 Dracheva added another point with a 6-3, 6-0 win. The sophomore was up just 4-3 in the first before winning the next eight games.
The final point came at No. 1 singles. Gorny cruised to a 6-1, 3-0 lead over WMU's Kerstin Pahl before the all-conference first-teamer responded. She closed to within 4-3 and later fought off three match points before Gorny prevailed 6-4.
Matches by Danesis at No. 3, Larson at No. 5 and Honiball at No. 6 were abandoned after the championship.
"I am thrilled that the effort of our girls was rewarded today, not only with a championship, but also with their best tennis of the entire season." Head Coach Howard Joffe said. "I am very grateful to the coach of such a wonderful group of resourceful young ladies."
Miami, ranked 75th in the country, went undefeated during regular-season league play and won each of the tournament matches by 4-0 scores. The RedHawks were victorious in 75 of 88 matches against conference teams, an .852 winning percentage.
Miami will find out its NCAA Regional site on Tuesday afternoon when the bracket is unveiled at 5:20 p.m. on ESPNews.
