ASA Miami captures first-ever DI national championship
The Silver Storm claimed the title behind a platoon of sophomores with championship experience
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TYLER, Texas – For the first time in school history, ASA Miami (Fla.) can call itself a national champion after it finished atop the 24-team field at the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday afternoon at JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center.
When all was said and done, the Silver Storm, which entered the tournament as the No. 1 ranked team, collected 51 points during the five-day tournament due in large part to a dominating overall performance.
In doubles action, ASA Miami swept through the competition as it dropped just one of 25 sets played between the three flights and outscored its opponents, 151-60.
The momentum continued into singles play as the Silver Stormers were victorious in four of the six flights. Helping the ASA Miami cause during the individual portion were sophomores Megan Bianco who won No. 2 singles, Tyler Smith who secured No. 3 singles, Simone Pratt in No. 5 singles and Mikala Lowrance in No. 6 singles.
With 45 points, host-school Tyler (Texas) finished second overall in the team standings, while Mesa (Ariz.) amassed 32 points to come in third.
Capturing individual titles were a pair of No. 3-seeds from Tyler in freshmen Gabrielle Andrews and Tereza Klocova. Andrews was named the No. 1 singles champion after she ousted top-seed Maria Elena Medina Betancourt – a freshman from State College of Florida – 6-2, 6-0. Klocova took home the No. 4 singles crown with a 6-1, 6-3 result against sophomore Mingxiu Du of ASA Miami.
Despite this being ASA Miami’s first-ever national championship, this is the second straight national championship for sophomore Macarena Olivares, Bianco, Smith, Du and Pratt who were each apart of ASA New York’s 2015 championship team. The victory notched Silver Storm head coach Brian Slack’s third consecutive national title, adding to the championships he won at ASA New York in 2014 and 2015.
Photos courtesy of Tyler Athletics.