Sophomore Carl Sundberg and the No. 22 University of Miami men’s tennis team came back from a 3-0 deficit to upset No. 10 Florida 4-3 Saturday evening at the University of Florida’s Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
Down 3-0 after losing the doubles point and two singles matches, the Hurricanes (16-8) rallied for four straight singles victories to clinch a trip to College Station, Texas for a Round of 16 match Thursday night.
Sundberg lost the first set but clinched the win for the Canes by beating Antoine Benneteau, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, in the third position. Sophomore Christian Blocker and senior David Rosenfeld also won in three sets.
Before that, four-time All-American and 13th-ranked Daniel Vallverdu erased No. 23 Carlos Cueto’s 5-4 lead in the deciding set by coming back to win, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, to tie the team score at three apiece.
Sophomore Keith Crowley and freshman Ignacio Taboada each took a singles loss against the Gators (17-9) to snap their eight-game winning streaks.
“I can’t say enough about our team and our seniors,” head coach Mario Rincon said. “It was an incredible accomplishment for us to beat Florida at their place in front of a huge crowd. It was a great college match – every point was disputed and it was so close. We have had our battles with UF – and we haven’t always come out on top, so it was a huge victory for this program. I’m proud of our coaches, our players, fans and everyone associated with this University of Miami tennis program.”
Singles
1. #13 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. #23 Carlos Cueto (UF) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. David Rosenfeld (UM) def. #33 Alex Lacroix (UF) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
3. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Antoine Benneteau (UF) 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-1
4. Joey Burkhardt (UF) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
5. Christian Blocker (UM) def. Johnny Hamui (UF) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
6. Jeff Dadamo (UF) def. Ignacio Taboada (UM) 7-6(5), 6-4
Doubles
1. #16 Benneteau/Burkhardt (UF) vs. #38 Vallverdu/Rosenfeld DNF
2. Dadamo/Hamui (UF) def. Sundberg/Crowley (UM) 8-5
3. Cueto/Lacroix (UF) def. David Simon/Taboada (UM) 8-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,2,5,1,3)