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Love, Miami

The 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team picked up their first ACC road win of the season in a 6-1 win against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Friday.

The win for Miami (8-2, 5-0 ACC) marks the fifth-straight ACC win of the season and the first one away from Coral Gables.

With a familiar face coaching the Panthers in former Hurricane assistant Alex Santos, Miami quickly notched the doubles point after wins from 24th-ranked Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobeuno as well as Lina Lileikite and Stephanie Wagner.

Albuquerque and Riobueno handled Audrey Ann Blakely and Amanda Wickman 8-2 and Wagner and Lileikite took their match against Jocelyn Lu and Kimmy Borza 8-5.

“Today was a tough match against a good friend,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “We were a bit tired after a long travel day yesterday but I think we did a good job for the most part.”

After winning the doubles point, Miami went on to win five of the six singles matches on the day, which Yaroshuk-Tews credited to Miami’s serving.

“We served the best I’ve seen all season and got to the net early in points which we needed to do.”

First to complete her match was 71st-ranked Wagner, who was in dominant form in her 6-0, 6-0 win against Lolade Ogungbesan. With the win, Wagner remained perfect in ACC play and improved her spring singles record to 10-2.

Riobueno, playing in the three-singles slot, also made quick work of her opponent, defeating Amanda Wickman in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. It marks Riobueno’s fifth-straight victory and keeps her record at a perfect 4-0 while playing at the three-singles spot.

Next to complete her win and clinch the match for Miami was Lileikite. In straight sets 6-2, 6-1 against Molly Wickman, Lileikite notched her seventh singles win of the spring.

Playing at the six-singles spot, Albuquerque had little difficulty against Lu, defeating her in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 en route to her team-high 11th win of the season. Albuquerque also extended her team-long winning streak to six.

No. 40 Laurente came up on the losing end of a tough battle against Pitt’s number one player Blakely. After falling 7-5 in the first set Laurente couldn’t recover and dropped the second set 6-1.

Bolivar registered her ninth singles win of the season with a win against Kimmy Borza 6-3, 6-4. The win for Bolivar improves her record at the five-singles spot to a flawless 3-0.

The Hurricanes continue their road trip on Sunday, Mar. 9 when they travel to Raleigh, N.C., for an ACC match against the NC State Wolfpack. First serve on Sunday is set for 11 a.m. 

Singles
1. Audrey Ann Blakely (PITT) def. #40 Kelsey Laurente (UM) 7-5, 6-1
2. #71 Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Lolade Ogungbesan (PITT) 6-0, 6-0
3. Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Amanda Wickman (PITT) 6-1, 6-0
4. Lina Lileikite (UM) def. Molly Wickman (PITT) 6-2, 6-1
5. Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Kimmy Borza (PITT) 6-3, 6-4
6. Monique Albuquerque (UM) def. Jocelyn Lu (PITT) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles
1. #24 Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Audrey Ann Blakely/Amanda Wickman (PITT) 8-2
2. #48 Kelsey Laurente/Melissa Bolivar (UM) def. Lolade Ogungbesan/Molly Wickman (PITT) 6-5
3. Lina Lileikite/Stephanie Wagner (UM) def. Jocelyn Lu/Kimmy Borza (PITT) 8-5

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Lord It's Hard To Be Humble

When you're perfect in everyway!

And that is exactly what Miami Hurricanes' pitcher Javi Salas was against Villanova on Tuesday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

Salas tossed on the second "Perefect Game" in UM history last night matching what Kevin Sheary did way back in 1987.

Here is a video tribute courtesy of www.hurricanesports.com on his magical night at The Light:

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Your 16th ranked Miami Hurricane hardballers return to action tonight at ARP at MLF:

GAME INFORMATION – #16 MIAMI HURRICANES (5-5, 0-0 ACC) vs. VILLANOVA WILDCATS (2-7, 0-0 BIG EAST)

DATES / TIMES: Tues., March 4, 2014 (6 p.m. ET) • Wed., March 5, 2014 (6 p.m. ET) 
Canes All-Access • WVUM 90.5 FM • Coral Gables, Fla. • Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field (4,999)

SERIES HISTORY

Miami leads the all-time series 4-0-0 and 2-0-0 at Mark Light Field… Miami won the last match-up between the two teams, a 2000 battle at Mark Light Field, by a final score 13-8.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

WVUM 90.5 FM • WVUM.org

Tuesday: Alex Somer, Jorge Salas, Will Gretsky
Wednesday: Dan Kane, Oliver Redsten, Matt Ciabattari

PROJECTED STARTERS

Tuesday: MIAMI RHP Javi Salas (0-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. VILLANOVA LHP Hunter Schryver (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

Wednesday: MIAMI LHP Danny Garcia (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. VILLANOVA LHP Jeff Courter (0-0, 11.05 ERA)

NEWS AND NOTES

STARTING OUT STRONG...

• The No. 16 Miami Hurricanes continue their challenging start to the 2014 season with a midweek series against visiting Villanova.
• Miami has three wins against teams ranked in the top 25 through its first 10 games, including two in a series victory over then-No. 16 Florida (Feb. 21-23). The Hurricanes also captured the series opener against No. 2 FSU 3-1 on the road on Feb. 28.
• Miami’s other nonconference competition has included a series victory over 2013 America East regular season champions Maine and a 5-2 midweek loss to FAU, who qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Hurricanes, who open ACC play this weekend against Boston College (March 7-9) before traveling to Stetson (March 12) and Georgia Tech (March 14-16).

POWER SURGE...

• Miami ranks first in the ACC with eight home runs through the first three weekends of the regular season. Dale Carey, Zack Collins and Garrett Kennedy lead Miami with two homers each.
• The Hurricane offense exploded for six home runs in its series with Florida (Feb. 21-23), the most for a Miami team in a single series since an April 2010 weekend set at Virginia Tech.
• Collins became the first Hurricane since current San Diego Padres slugger Yonder Alonso (2006) to record a home run as his first collegiate hit - a three-run blast against Florida (Feb. 22). He also recorded home runs in an exhibition with the Marlins (solo HR, Feb. 26) and on the road at Florida State (two-run HR, March 2).
• Miami did not record its eight home run of the 2013 season until a 5-3 win over Maryland on April 13 - the team’s 38th game of the spring.

Lady 'Canes Improve To 3-0 In ACC

The 20th-ranked Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team improved to 3-0 in ACC play after their convincing 6-1 win over No. 56 Boston College on Friday.

“Starting 3-0 is where we want to be,” head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said. “The toughest road is a head of us, but we’re happy to start 3-0 in ACC play.” The Hurricanes got victories from the No. 2 doubles and No. 3 doubles teams, signaling the doubles point in favor of Miami. “I think everyone did a great job,” senior Melissa Bolivar said.

“Everyone fought with a lot of energy and played pretty good tennis and left it all out there. I’m proud of everyone on my team.” 24th-ranked Clementina Riobueno and Monique Albuquerque handled Boston College’s Wan-Yi Sweeting and Heini Salonen 8-1 for the first doubles win of the match.

Stephanie Wagner and Brittany Dubins outperformed their Boston College opponents, winning the match 8-2 to give Miami the doubles point heading into singles. 40th-ranked Melissa Bolivar and Kelsey Laurente, playing in the No. 1 doubles slot today, held a 4-3 lead against Jessica Wacnik and Lexi Borr when their match was stopped.

The Hurricanes remained in control of the match as singles got underway, taking first set leads in five of the six singles matches. No. 40 Laurente was on the top of her game, beating Boston College’s Borr in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. Laurente improved her spring singles record to 8-1 and 4-0 at the No. 2 singles position. “I think Kelsey is stepping up and really maturing,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “She’s really playing the way we talk about playing tennis—with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I really think that Kelsey plays better tennis when she brings that level of intensity to the court.”

The 71st-ranked Wagner won her first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 and then turned it up a notch in the second set, cruising to a 6-1 win. The Amberg, Germany native kept her ACC singles record perfect, advancing to 3-0 in conference play. “Steffi was able to make some minor changes in her game that had huge returns in the outcome of her match,” Yaroshuk-Tews said. “To be down three set points in the first set and turn it around and take the second set 6-1, that says a lot about her today.”

Miami’s Bolivar controlled her match from start to end, defeating Heini Salonen in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. “I was playing good tennis,” Bolivar said. “I was just playing with confidence and playing my game.” Riobueno put together a solid performance against 91st-ranked Boston College player Katya Vasilyev, defeating her in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the final singles match of the day.

Wolfpack Hounded By Hurricanes

Led by Tonye Jekiri's first career double-double and four other Canes scoring in double figures, Miami weathered an NC State second half storm and picked up an important ACC road win, 85-70.

Rion Brown scored 20 points to lead Miami. Garrius Adams added 16 points and Manu Lecomte and Erik Swoope had 15 apiece for the Hurricanes (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference).

The Canes shot a season-best 58.7 percent and set a season high for scoring with 85 points, their highest offensive output since March 17, 2013, when they put up 87 points against North Carolina.

Miami erased its only deficit of the second half by reeling off 13 straight points and winning its third in four games.

ACC scoring leader T.J. Warren had 20 points for the Wolfpack (17-12, 7-9). His dunk off a steal by Desmond Lee with about 6 1/2 minutes left put N.C. State up 65-64.

Tonye Jekiri followed with two free throws that gave the Hurricanes the lead for good. Adams banked in a jumper, Jekiri followed Brown's missed 3 with a dunk and Adams converted a key three-point play.

Tonye Jekiri set a career high for rebounds (13) and scored 14 points en route to his first career double-double. It is the ninth time in 2013-14 that Jekiri has registered seven or more rebounds.

The Canes had five players in double figures (Brown 20, Adams 16, Swoope 15, Lecomte 15, Jekiri 14). Manu Lecomte had multiple threes (3) for the eighth time this season and shot 100% from the free-throw line. Lecomte’s 15 points are his most since his career high 19 at Maryland and the eleventh time the freshman has scored in double figures.

Erik Swoope registered a career high 15 points and scored in double-figures for the third consecutive game. Nine of Miami’s twelve players have registered at least five starts. Garrius Adams is the only Cane to start every game (29).

With 85 points Saturday, Miami had its largest offensive output since March 17, 2013 against North Carolina when they tallied 87 in the ACC Championship game. Miami shot a season high 58.7 percent from the floor, their best shooting percentage since shooting 57 percent against Savannah State in December.

TSully's favorite player, Rion Brown, scored in double-figures (20) for the eleventh straight game and 23rd time this season.

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'Canes Hand 'Noles First Loss Of The Season

No. 14 Miami handed No. 2 Florida State its first loss of the season Friday night, toppling the previously undefeated Seminoles 3-1 at Dick Howser Stadium.

Junior lefthander Chris Diaz delivered seven strong innings for Miami (5-3), striking out six batters and scattering just four hits.

"He pitched great," said Morris of Diaz, who improved his personal record to 3-0 with the win. "He's one of those guys who goes right after people. He's got good sink, gets a lot of groundballs. If you play good defense behind him, you have a good chance to win. I thought he had the guys off-balance all night. He pitched extremely well."

Freshman righthander Bryan Garcia earned his third save of the season, pitching the final two innings in the close victory. The win marked Miami's third of the season against a team ranked in the top 25 and continued an impressive albeit brief trend; Miami handed then-No. 1 and undefeated North Carolina (16-0) its first loss of the season on March 15, 2013 at Boshamer Stadium.

It was the Seminoles (6-1) who struck first in Friday's opener, scoring a run on a two-out throwing error by sophomore David Thompson in the bottom of the first.

Miami loaded the bases and threatened to tie the game in the third, but FSU starter Luke Weaver (2-1) retired senior Brad Fieger on a groundout to end the inning. Junior catcher Garrett Kennedy and sophomore shortstop Brandon Lopez, making his first official start of 2014 after recovering from a knee injury, connected for back-to-back singles in the frame.

Diaz (3-0), who went a season long-tying seven innings in the outing, impressively worked his way out of a tough jam in the third to keep the visitors within one run. After allowing a double to Josh Delph and an infield single to Gonzalez to put runners on the corners with no outs, Diaz struck out DJ Stewart, fielded Brett Knief's attempted squeeze perfectly to get Delph at home, and struck out John Nogowski to end the inning.

"I was keeping the ball down and had a lot of sink on my ball," Diaz said. "They were hitting it into the ground a lot. My defense played great today, and they helped me win."

Diaz' work paid off, as a sacrifice fly from senior infielder Alex Hernandez off Weaver a half-inning later tied the game 1-1. Freshman sluggers Willie Abreu and Zack Collins reached on a single and walk respectively, and Abreu advanced to third on a passed ball charged to Seminoles catcher Danny De La Calle.

Hernandez then lifted a Weaver offering deep enough to center to plate Abreu, who scored standing up to knot the game 1-1.

Miami took its first lead of the game in the sixth, when back-to-back singles from Dale Carey and Tyler Palmer put the visitors in position to strike off Weaver. An infield single from Fieger looked to have loaded the bases, but an ill-advised throw from Justin Gonzalez at short made its way past the Seminoles first baseman Nogowski.

Carey scored from second and both Palmer and Fieger advanced a base. Another sacrifice fly - this one from sophomore David Thompson - plated Palmer from third to make it 3-1 in favor of the Hurricanes. Carey's run was the only earned allowed by Weaver, who was tagged with the loss after six innings of work.

"Our guys hustled and they took advantage of a couple of mistakes," Morris said. "That's normally what it comes down to. Just like in the first inning... they took an advantage of an error we made, and we took advantage of a couple they made."