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RedHawks earn third consecutive MAC win

By Scott Sutton, For The Miami Student

The Miami University tennis team (8-9) earned their third consecutive Mid-American Conference match win with a near-perfect weekend, beating University of Buffalo (10-6), 5-2, Friday and University of Akron (13-9), 5-2, Sunday.

Miami began the match against Buffalo with a doubles victory from sophomore Hannah Shteyn and senior Ana Rajkovic, who topped freshmen Chantal Martinez Blanco and Mercedes Losada Rubio, 7-5.

Freshman Emily Struble and sophomore Nelli Ponomareva won their doubles match against sophomore Christine Haraldson and Laura Holterbosch, 6-2, giving Miami an overall 1-0 lead.

Buffalo took the first singles victory when sophomore Tanja Stojanovska defeated MU freshman Anzhelika Shapovalova, 6-0, 6-2. The 'Hawks went on to win the next four matches to seal the win. Shteyn, Ponomareva, Struble and junior Andreea Badileanu collected the victories.

Head coach Yana Carollo was happy with her team's effort.

"We rearranged doubles and are playing more focused," Carollo said. "The desire is high and we are executing out patterns better. Also, we have great experience of playing many good teams which has helped us. Our confidence as a team has increased. That's what we need towards the end of the season. The team wants to finish at its highest expectations."

Miami started the match against Akron with a clean sweep in doubles play. The same pairs from Buffalo's match played together, along with the pairing of Badileanu and Shapovalova. Badileanu and Shapovalova beat sophomore Ariadna Blinova and junior Shannon Newnes, 6-3. Ponomoareva and Struble topped freshman Luisa Echeverry and senior Martina Zerbola, 6-3. Shteyn and Rajkovic's match went unfinished.

Miami had another four straight victories to clinch the overall match win. The wins came from Ponomareva, Badileanu, Rajkovic, and Struble.

Struble defeated Zerbola, 6-3, 6-0 for her fourth straight win. She is now 4-0 in MAC play.

"We have just stayed confident," Struble said. "We've been confident that the work we have been putting in all year would pay off, and it has. Winning as many MAC matches as possible is very important for us because it gives us confidence going into the tournament and will help us to finish our season on a good note."

Next week the team returns home to Oxford for two matches. Miami goes up against Bowling Green University (2-14) at 1 p.m. Friday. They face Eastern Michigan University (4-14) at 1 p.m. Sunday.

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