After winning five consecutive contests, the University of Miami men’s tennis team’s win streak was snapped by No. 6 North Carolina on Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, NC. The ‘Canes had no answer for the red hot Tar Heels, who easily downed Miami 6-1 in an important conference match-up.
The loss drops the No. 35 Hurricanes to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in ACC play. Miami continues to struggle on the road this season with an abysmal 2-6 record away from Coral Gables, Fla. Miami’s win streak, albeit impressive, must be taken at face value: all five matches were played at home
The Hurricanes were completely overpowered by an impressive North Carolina team that improved to 16-0 on the season, matching their best start since 1970.
The lone victory for Miami came from their All-American No. 1 singles player Luigi D’Agord, who defeated Carolina’s Benjamin Carlotti. D’Agord, who was named “ACC Player of the Week” for his impressive play last weekend, dropped the first set 3-6 to Carlotti but fought back to win the next two 6-1 and 10-8 in a tiebreaker.
Playing without their No. 2 singles player Danny Vallverdu, who sprained his ankle in a match against Maryland last weekend, Head Coach Mario Rincon was forced to move each of his players up a slot in the lineup. However, with the exception of D’Agord, the ‘Canes were unable to step up, losing the remainder of their singles matches in straight sets.
The Hurricanes’ schedule does not get much easier from here, as they face four Top 25 opponents in their final six matches. With three of these four matches being held on the road, the Hurricanes must find a way to win away from home if they hope to defend last year’s ACC title.
At the time of print, the results of the match against Duke on Sunday had not been released.
Zack Loss may be contacted at z.loss@umiami.edu.