After three sets and seven match points in a matchup between the two highest-ranked players in the country, the NCAA Singles Championship trophy is headed to Coral Gables, Fla.
Top-seeded Estela Perez-Somarriba of the University of Miami women's tennis team dropped the opening set before dominating the rest of the match to defeat second-seeded Katarina Jokic of Georgia, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-3, Saturday night at the USTA National Campus.
"It's amazing. Dreams come true," Perez-Somarriba said. "I am just really happy that I got to be here and that I was able to experience all of this. I am just really grateful to the University of Miami; the coaches, teammates and the staff, for making this possible and for helping me every single day."
"I don't think I have ever seen a better college tennis match in a bigger moment in my career," Yaroshuk-Tews said. "It was just incredible."
"We made it," Perez-Somarriba said of her thought when the match ended. "Honestly, I have dreamt about this many, many times and I really couldn't believe that I actually did it. I am really happy that I got to experience this next to my coaches; they are the best."
"It's really unbelievable. You hear it all the time in sports that athletes deserve it and it doesn't really even do this justice," Yaroshuk-Tews said. "You have no idea the days that we have had post-NCAA tournament freshman year, post NCAA tournament sophomore year. We made some adjustments to her training, we made it tougher on her all year. There were moments that she didn't like us, there were moments she didn't understand us and she just got tougher, more resilient and able to deal with adversity and trusted us every step of the way. She trusted herself and her preparation every step of the way. This girl wakes up every single day and lives life the right way. She is walking away with a national title and I mean, words cannot even describe how happy I am for her."
Miami is the seventh school to win multiple NCAA Singles Championship crowns and is tied for the fourth-most. In addition, the Hurricanes are one of just six programs with at least three individual titles, including the NCAA Doubles Championship.