In singles play, Miami has been led by freshman Anastasia Dracheva (11-3 in the number one slot), sophomore Brintney Larson (13-6, mostly from the number two slot), freshman Megan Martzolf (10-4), senior Kelly Douple (14-5, including 8-0 in the MAC), and senior Leda Pesatova (12-6).  Overall, Miami is 79-35 in singles play, including 38-10 (.792) in the MAC.  Many different players and combinations led Miami to a 34-23 doubles record, but the standout combination was Leda Pesatova and Sydnee Bridger, who ended the season with a record of 11-4, including 6-2 in the MAC.

The MAC tournament begins Friday as Miami plays seventh seeded Ball State (8-10, 1-6) at 2pm.  If Miami wins, they would play either #3 Toledo or #6 Buffalo at 2pm on Saturday.  The tournament finals will be held on Sunday at noon with top seeded Western Michigan (14-7, 7-0) looming on the other side of the bracket.

Congratulations to the Miami tennis team on its outstanding season and good luck at the MAC tournament!

On Sunday, women's basketball takes center stage as the RedHawks play in their first ever NCAA tournament game, matching up against Louisville at 2:30p on ESPN.  The RedHawks earned a spot in the tournament with its MAC tournament championship last weekend in Cleveland, culminating in a 67-56 victory versus OU.  Miami, seeded #13 in the tournament, is currently 23-10 and has won 12 of their last 13 games.  Louisville, seeded #4, is 24-9 and lost to Connecticut in the Big East championship game.  A Miami victory would advance them to the second round against either Kansas State or Chattanooga on Tuesday.

Good luck to both the ice hockey team on its quest for a CCHA tournament title and the women's basketball team on its quest to win its first ever NCAA tournament game.

Every Miami singles player has a winning record, with the team paced by freshman Anastasia Dracheva (6-0 in number one singles), sophomore Brintney Larson (7-1 in total, 2-0 at #1 and 5-1 in #2), and freshman Cara Wald (7-1 in total, 3-0 at #5 and 4-1 at #6).  Overall, Miami's freshman have posted a record of 21-3 thus far this season. In doubles, Miami's team record is 19-5.  The team of Brintney Larson and Cara Wald has a total record of 6-2 while handling most of the #1 doubles matches and the team of Anastasia Dracheva and freshman Megan Martzolf has a record of 5-1 primarily at the #2 double slot. 

Next up for tennis is a match in Huntington, WV versus Marshall on Saturday.  This is the first of nine straight road contests for the RedHawks; highlights of the upcoming schedule include matches at Maryland on March 1 and at Wisconsin on March 15.  The MAC schedule begins with a match at Ball State on March 22 while the next home match is on April 11 versus Bowling Green. 

Miami football is hoping to follow in volleyball's footsteps and become the second Miami team to win a conference title this school year.  The RedHawks play West division champion Central Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday at 11am.  The football team is attempting to win its first MAC title since 2003, in what would cap a fantastic turnaround from 2-10 to conference champion.  A win would improve Miami's record to 7-6 and guarantee a bowl game for the RedHawks. 

Good luck to both Miami squads this weekend as they strive to continue their respective seasons.   

Congratulations to the VolleyHawks on your wonderful season and MAC Tournament title.  Good luck in the NCAA's!

Also scoring for Miami were Jennie Stoll (47th, 22:16), Kelsey McHugh (64th, 22:44), Rebekah Hollander (77th, 22:59), and Mia Fiegelist (91st, 23:07).

At-large bids (for teams and individuals) to the NCAA Championship meet will be announced on Monday (Nov. 12th). Look for Laura Neufarth to represent Miami at the championship meet in Terre Haute, IN on Nov. 19th!!

http://www.ncaasports.com/crosscountry/recaps/d1_glakes_women/2007

Today, field hockey begins the MAC tournament with a match versus Missouri State.  Miami is seeded third with a conference record of 6-4 (overall record of 8-10) while Missouri State is seeded sixth with a conference record of 1-9 (overall record of 2-18).  The winner plays second seed Kent State (7-3, 12-8) in the semifinals on Saturday with the championship game on Sunday.  The tournament will be played in Oxford so hopefully there will be a large crowd there to cheer the RedHawks to victory.

 Soccer finishes the regular season with a match in Oxford versus Ball State today.  The Redhawks currently have a record of 4-5-1 in the MAC and 6-8-3 overall.  The RedHawks are currently tied for seventh in the league standings, with the top eight teams qualifying for the MAC tournament.  Hopefully the RedHawks can pull the upset of first place Ball State (8-1-1) and not have to rely on help to make the tourney field.   The MAC Championships begin this Sunday at campus sites, with the last two rounds next weekend.

Good luck to the field hockey and soccer teams as they attempt to win a MAC tournament title. 

Neufarth's finish lead the RedHawks to a third-place finish (77 points) behind team champion Ohio U. (56 points) and runner-up Akron (58 points).  Also scoring for Miami were Jennie Stoll (11th place overall, 18:07), Kelsey McHugh (18th, 18:25), Rebekah Hollander (20th, 18:29), and Sarah Henize (27th, 18:36).

http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/m-xc/stats/2007-2008/mens_final_team_report.html

With six MAC matches remaining prior to the conference tournament, Miami enters a vital stretch of matches this week that will go a long way to determine whether Miami wins the MAC East.  On Wednesday, Miami visits a Bowling Green team that is the only MAC squad to defeat the RedHawks this season - BG was also the last team to defeat Miami, on September 20th.  BG has a record of 8-2, one game behind Miami and OU. 

After visiting Northern Illinois on Saturday, Miami returns to Oxford for key matches versus 8-2 Kent State on Friday, November 2nd and 9-1 OU the next night.  Miami has already defeated both of these teams, with the victory against OU ending the Bobcats' 64 match conference winning streak.  Presently, OU is the only MAC squad ranked in the Top 25, as they are 19th this week (in the same poll, Miami is in the "others receiving votes" category, placing them 35th). 

If you are in Oxford, hopefully you will be able to make one or both of the matches at Millett in order to see if Miami can position themselves for a conference title.  Congratulations to the team for its wonderful season thus far, and good luck the rest of the way. 

After a very successful week, Miami enters this weekend with an overall record of 6-7 and a MAC record of 3-1.  Miami is presently tied for first place in the East with OU and Kent State, the two teams Miami defeated last week.  The RedHawks have won their last three matches, and the squad was among the "others receiving votes" in the latest AVCA coaches poll.

Last week Miami defeated then #17 OU 3-1 in Athens to end OU's 64 match MAC winning streak, in perhaps the most impressive performance of any Miami team thus far in 2007-08.  Miami followed up that victory with a 3-0 victory at Kent State.  Looking ahead, OU visits Oxford on November 3rd in what will certainly be an exciting match as OU will be trying to avoid the season sweep from the RedHawks.

Miami's opponents this week both have 1-3 conference records and share the bottom spot in the division standings.  Buffalo has an overall record of 2-17 while Akron has an overall record of 9-8.

Hopefully, those of you in the Oxford vicinity will be able to get to Millett for at least one of these matches as the RedHawks try to take advantage of their longest homestand of the season in an effort to win the MAC East.

Here are a few links about this week's matches:

http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/100207aaa.html

http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/womensvolleyball/news/wvb10-01-2007-week.shtml

http://www.gozips.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10800&KEY=&SPID=4337&SPSID=47191