An early doubles victory couldn’t help the women’s tennis team stop the No. 10 University of Miami squad on Sunday as the team fell 6-1 after the Hurricanes swept singles play. For the Horned Frogs, however, the outcome didn’t reflect the team’s effort.
Three of the six singles matches went into third sets, including a heated match between sixth-ranked junior Nina Munch-Soegaard and the Hurricanes’ Julia Cohen, ranked 20th in the nation.
Fans erupted in anger after Cohen appeared to call a winner from Munch-Soegaard’s end out. The call was overturned, but the hostility between the two players continued in the next game as Cohen called two more of Munch-Soegaard’s close shots out, leading to more outbursts from the crowd. Munch-Soegaard lost 6-3, 1-6, 1-6.
“That’s just not sportsmanlike,” Munch-Soegaard said of her opponent after the matches. “It makes the match not as fun when people try to pull stunts like that.”
Playing on an adjacent court, senior Macall Harkins fell to No. 34 Laura Vallverdu 2-6, 6-4, 3-6.
Harkins, ranked 85th, said she noticed the dispute between Munch-Soegaard and Cohen, but didn’t pay much attention to it because she wanted to focus on her match. She said she was disappointed, but the team fought hard against a tough opponent.
“Most of us went three sets so we know that we all competed right there with them.” Harkins said. “We competed so closely that it could have been 7-0 (in our favor).”
The No. 21 Horned Frogs (4-3) were coming off a 6-1 victory Saturday against No. 62 North Carolina State University. The matches were moved indoors due to blustery conditions.
Miami, stacked with four players in the top 60, also played Saturday, losing at No. 7 Baylor University.
Horned Frogs head coach Jefferson Hammond said Miami’s victory was a testament to the team’s depth.
“Most teams who aren’t ranked as high coming off of a tough loss like that would fold up shop the next day,” Hammond said. “But these guys have seen so many great opponents over the last couple of years that they can just bounce back and step up.”
Hammond said he was disappointed not to take advantage of Miami after their Baylor loss.
“For us to have this opportunity and kind of let it go by is disappointing, but we … just have to understand that we’re tougher than we realize and we’ve got to give ourselves some credit sometimes,” Hammond said.
The team will face Texas Tech University in Lubbock on Thursday.