Miami Hurricanes tennis star Estela Perez Somarriba national championship runner-up

Miami Hurricanes tennis start Estela Perez-Somarriba the defending NCAA women’s tennis champion lost 6-3, 6-1 to third-seeded Emma Navarro of Virginia to fall short of a repeat title. Perez-Somarriba falls to 17-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with the loss. She also reached the national semifinals as a freshman in 2017.

The loss cost Perez-Somarriba a chance to become the first player in NCAA Tournament history to reach 18 wins. The 17 wins by Perez-Somarriba leaves her in a four-way tie for first with three players including former WTA professional Patty Fendick who played for Stanford from 1984-1987.

Navarro was the ACC Freshman of the Year. Perez-Somarribo gave Navarro her only loss this season in April. The loss by Perez-Somarriba also prevented her from becoming the first player since Perez-Somarriba since, ironically, Danielle Collins of Virginia to win two national championships.

Collins who is currently the 40th ranked player in the world captured NCAA titles in 2014 and 2016 for the Cavaliers. Perez-Somarriba chose to return to Miami with the extra season granted by the NCAA last year. Perez-Somarriba ends her Miami Hurricanes tennis career as the all-time leader in singles wins.

Next up for one of the greatest women’s athletes in the history of the Miami athletic department is to return home to Spain and get ready to make her WTA debut. Her career is among the best in the history of NCAA women’s tennis. Navarro controlled the match after dropping the opening game of the first set.

Perez-Somarriba was broken six times and had only three-game points on her serve. The torch as the best player in women’s collegiate tennis was clearly passed in Orlando on Friday afternoon. Perez-Somarriba helped Miami finished 8-5 and sixth as a team in the ACC in 2021. Miami lost 4-1 to UCF in the second round as a team.