The Canes couldn’t have picked it any better.
Sunday’s scattered clouds and breezy 77 degrees at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center created a fine setting for the UM men’s tennis team to dominate Boston College in a 7-0 rout.
Miami (13-8, 2-4 ACC) extended its winning record to 10-2 at home in Coral Gables with the victory over the Eagles (5-11, 0-6 ACC).
After a trio of tough road losses to Florida State in Tallahassee, Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., and N.C. State in Raleigh, the Hurricanes’ morale and confidence proved resilient across all courts.
“It does wonders for us. We’re in the middle of a really difficult schedule,” coach Mario Rincon said. “We practice hard for an entire week, and it’s great when the guys get rewarded. Winning the doubles point, winning all the singles matches out there, it’s great for their confidence and for our confidence as a team as well. It’s just nice being rewarded for it, especially when we’re up against other ACC teams that are winning on the road.”
Miami started off strong with a doubles win from the first pair, junior Omar Aly and sophomore Wilfredo Gonzalez, 8-6 over Boston College’s Philip Nelson and Michael McGinnis.
The Canes’ third pair included freshman Jack Murphy, making his collegiate debut, and junior Marco Stancati. They won 8-5 over Alexandre Thirouin and Kyle Childree to secure the doubles point and take the 1-0 lead in the match.
All six singles players claimed their matches in straight sets from the Eagles, who won just 11 games combined during the first sets of singles play.
Freshman William Albanese took the first singles point for the Canes, allowing opponent Klaus Puestow of Boston College just one game in two sets.
“It’s a little bit tough, whenever you win the first set big like that, it’s easy to lose your focus,” Albanese said. “Especially if the guy’s a good player, he can come back and win the second set and then you’re even. But mostly it’s just focus.”
Top-seeded Diego Soto defeated Boston College’s Phillip Nelson 6-3,6-2, Gabriel Flores defeated Michael McGinnis 6-2, 6-2 and Wilfredo Gonzalez notched another singles point with his 6-2, 6-3 win over Billy Grokenberger.
Stancati breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 win against Childree, while Victor Mauz secured the fifth singles point 6-2, 6-4 over Matt Wagner.
The Hurricanes will take the court on Friday against the UNC Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C