Men’s Tennis: Crunch time for the ‘Canes

The No. 33 Miami Hurricanes went into this weekend looking to extend their one match win streak to three and take some momentum into the ACC Tournament.

Although they put forth a valiant effort, the Hurricanes were unable to cash in against the No. 11 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, losing 4-3.

“We didn’t play very well today in the doubles matches,” Head Coach Mario Rincon said. “But we came back strong in singles competition. We had opportunities to win the match. Nevertheless, our team competed hard and I’m proud of them.”

Despite the winning efforts of their No. 2 doubles pair of Daniel Vallverdu and Vivek Subramanian, Miami dropped two of the three doubles matches, losing the doubles point. Despite this, Miami looked to cash in during singles play and steal a much needed road win. But, things did not roll Miami’s way.

Miami’s top three singles players-Luigi D’Agord, Daniel Vallverdu and Josh Cohen-cruised to victory in straight sets, but the team’s players could not overcome their opponents.

The loss was the fourth loss in the last five matches, and it lowered the Hurricanes to below .500 to 10-11 on the season and 5-5 in ACC play. The problem with this is that the Hurricanes have been a hot and cold or hit and miss team this season, losing and winning in streaks.

This is quite problematic, as the ACC Tournament is right around the corner and the ACC is the most potent and dangerous conference in all of NCAA tennis. The Hurricanes play only the No. 24 North Carolina State Wolfpack before the start of the ACC Tournament. It will be important for the Hurricanes to win that match, so they can attempt to capture some momentum heading into the most crucial matches of the season.

Pravin Patel may be contacted at p.patel7@umiami.edu.