Serving another victory

Miami shuts out FAU in the season opener
It was business as usual for the Miami Hurricanes in their season opener.
The ‘Canes annihilated Florida Atlantic 7-0 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Thursday night. A hard-fought battle by freshman Colin Purcell in No. 4 singles iced the match for Miami.
Early in the contest, UM’s No. 1 doubles team of Purcell and junior Luis Manrique dominated, continually forcing the FAU duo of Ernest Diaz and Jeremy Perez into several unforced errors. The Hurricanes found success in consistently hitting deep court shots and volleys that were out of reach for the less-agile Owls. Purcell delivered a backhand volley into deuce court in the tenth game, finishing off FAU 8-2, and giving Miami a doubles point.
The No. 3 doubles team of Widom and Eric Hechtman won 8-3, while No.2 doubles Andrew Golub and Tim Krebs struggled through much of their match before pulling out an eventual 8-6 victory.
Widom eased through his No. 1 singles match, winning 6-3, 6-3. By the third game of the first set, Widom’s variety of shots left FAU’s David Demer with nowhere to turn. A late Demer double fault set up match point for Widom, who didn’t have to think twice before serving up a quick shot that Demer could not keep in bounds.
“Todd did what he’s been doing the last year and a half, and that’s knowing what he has to do, going out there, and taking care of business,” head coach Bryan Getz said.
Widom was satisfied with his play as well.
“For my first match of the year it was a good performance,” Widom said. “I was in control and as long as I could hold onto my serves, I could win the match. The key is keeping your concentration.”
Getz came out of his first match as head coach without a scratch, something that he was certainly excited about.
“It’s a great feeling, an unbelievable feeling,” Getz said. “As coaches we did our part to prepare them as much as possible, [and] they did the rest. They all fought through, and I was most proud of the fact that they stayed committed to their game plans and what they were trying to do.”
After two seasons as an assistant coach, Getz now has the top job and first-year assistant Ari Widlanski as his right hand. Both are ready for a major challenge this season.
“We’re going to continue to practice hard, train hard, and continue to do the things we’ve been doing,” Getz said. “Since we opened up practice January 6, [Widlanski] and I have seen constant improvement.”
“We’re going to have peaks and valleys because we’re a very young team. As long as we’re continually improving, that’s all I can ask for. The rest will take care of itself.”
Golub took care of Kevin Obletz in No.2 singles 6-2, 6-2, while Krebs won 6-3, 6-2 over Cristian Paiz in No.3 singles. Purcell, Hechtman and freshman Shauny Hoyes also won their matches for the ‘Canes.
“We’re looking forward to all of our matches because we have a tougher schedule than we did last year,” Widom said. “That is great for all of us because we’re going to get much better as a team.”

-You can reach Melissa Teich at melissateich@hotmail.com.