Daevenia Achong and Eden Richardson of the University of Miami women’s tennis team took the sixth spot in the year-end ITA doubles rankings, as announced Wednesday morning,
Following a magnificent run to the NCAA Doubles Championship title match, Achong and Richardson jumped seven spots for their highest ranking of the season.
Their finish is the best by a Miami pair since Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno took an identical spot in 2014. It is also the first top-10 finish since Stephanie Wagner and Wendy Zhang placed eighth in 2016. Additionally, this is the first time a Hurricane duo has earned a top-six ranking at any point in a season since Wagner and Lina Lileikite held that position on March 24, 2015.
Achong, a fourth-year junior, and Richardson, a fifth-year senior, tallied a 29-11 mark on the year, including a 21-8 ledger in the spring and a 15-7 record at the No. 1 position. They went 11-5 versus ranked foes, including 5-3 against top-15 pairs with a trio of top-10 triumphs.
Both players also earned top-50 finishes in singles, with Achong taking the No. 42 spot and Richardson placing No. 46. The last Hurricane to take a top-50 spot in singles and a top-25 spot in doubles to end a season was Wagner in 2016, as she placed No. 10 and eighth, respectively.
Achong recorded a 29-13 record in singles, tied for the most wins on the team. A native of Geleen, Netherlands, Achong went 19-5 in the top two lineup positions and 12-1 in ACC play, as well as registered four top-25 victories.
Richardson tallied a 19-15 mark in singles, including a 9-9 ledger at the No. 1 spot and a 3-3 mark versus top-10 foes. The Bath, England, native beat Virginia’s Emma Navarro, who finished second in the national rankings with a 26-2 record.
A third Hurricane, sophomore Isabella Pfennig, also earned a top-100 spot in the year-end rankings. She posted a 23-15 record on the year, including a superb 17-4 mark in dual matches with all 21 of those results coming in the top half of the lineup. A native of Gauting, Germany, Pfennig logged seven ranked wins on the year.
Another Miami tandem earned a spot in the final ITA doubles rankings, as third-year sophomores Diana Khodan and Maya Tahan took the No. 55 spot. As a pair, they recorded a 17-8 ledger, including a 4-2 tally versus ranked foes. They did not compete together after April 1, as Khodan, who hails from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, suffered a season-ending injury. Tahan, a native of Tel Mond, Israel, then played with freshman Tatyana Nikolenko the rest of the year.
The complete year-end ITA singles and doubles rankings can be found HERE. As a team, the Hurricanes finished ninth in the country, as announced May 25. It marked the best finish for the program since 2013.
To keep up with the University of Miami women’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Original source can be found here.
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