The No. 21 University of Miami men’s tennis team (1-0) swept their northern neighbors FAU (1-1) 7-0 winning all doubles and singles matches in their season debut Thursday night at Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
“The guys played well,” head coach Mario Rincon said. “FAU has a solid team and we had a battle with them.”
Junior Carl Sundberg, who entered the game ranked 57th, and sophomore Ignacio Taboada set the pace for the rest of the team, starting their season by dismantling their double rivals 8-1.
“Starting with the doubles win was really important,” said Rincon. “I think that this year our guys were extremely ready from the beginning and a couple of matches went our way.”
The Hurricanes were not as dominant as the final score implies. The Owls made the Canes work for their 7 points: junior Christian Blocker and senior David Simon won 8-4, and sophomore Waylon Chin and junior Keith Crowley won 9-8 after trailing 3-0.
Sundberg debuted in the No. 1 spot replacing Daniel Valverdu, who graduated last year. He got off to a shaky start, losing the first set to Marc Abdelnour then battling back to win 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
Blocker playing in the No. 2 position also had a tough night, needing three sets to finally beat Lawrance Harradine 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.
“Everyone on our team can play a lot better,” Rincon said. “I think they were a little bit nervous at the start but they shook off the nerves and they started playing better, and everyone has a lot of room for improvement in a lot of areas.”
Chin, a recent transfer from Illinois, was impressive playing in the No. 3 position in his debut defeating FAU senior Daniel Vardag in straight sets 61-64
Crowley, Taboada and Simon, currently ranked 120, finished out the day in straight set wins.
The team’s Saturday match against Stetson (0-0) was cancelled due to rain. The Hurricanes will next face North Carolina in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The winners of the 15 regions participating will take part in the National Team Indoor Championships.
Debora Rubi may be contacted at drubi@themiamihurricane.com.
The No. 21 University of Miami men’s tennis team (1-0) swept their northern neighbors FAU (1-1) 7-0 winning all doubles and singles matches in their season debut Thursday night at Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
“The guys played well,” head coach Mario Rincon said. “FAU has a solid team and we had a battle with them.”
Junior Carl Sundberg, who entered the game ranked 57th, and sophomore Ignacio Taboada set the pace for the rest of the team, starting their season by dismantling their double rivals 8-1.
“Starting with the doubles win was really important,” said Rincon. “I think that this year our guys were extremely ready from the beginning and a couple of matches went our way.”
The Hurricanes were not as dominant as the final score implies. The Owls made the Canes work for their 7 points: junior Christian Blocker and senior David Simon won 8-4, and sophomore Waylon Chin and junior Keith Crowley won 9-8 after trailing 3-0.
Sundberg debuted in the No. 1 spot replacing Daniel Valverdu, who graduated last year. He got off to a shaky start, losing the first set to Marc Abdelnour then battling back to win 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
Blocker playing in the No. 2 position also had a tough night, needing three sets to finally beat Lawrance Harradine 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.
“Everyone on our team can play a lot better,” Rincon said. “I think they were a little bit nervous at the start but they shook off the nerves and they started playing better, and everyone has a lot of room for improvement in a lot of areas.”
Chin, a recent transfer from Illinois, was impressive playing in the No. 3 position in his debut defeating FAU senior Daniel Vardag in straight sets 61-64
Crowley, Taboada and Simon, currently ranked 120, finished out the day in straight set wins.
The team’s Saturday match against Stetson (0-0) was cancelled due to rain. The Hurricanes will next face North Carolina in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The winners of the 15 regions participating will take part in the National Team Indoor Championships.
Debora Rubi may be contacted at drubi@themiamihurricane.com.