March 8, 2003

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami men’s tennis team, ranked No. 32 nationally, defeated No. 45 Clemson, 5-2, Saturday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on the Coral Gables campus. Miami took the lead by winning the doubles point and took four of six singles matches to earn the victory.

“I was really proud of the team today because of the way they hung in there in several tough matches,” said head coach Bryan Getz. “They showed a lot of mental toughness today. This could be a big win for our season because of the way we won against a quality opponent.”

Miami improved to 6-4 this season with the victory. Clemson fell to 12-5 this season.

Miami started off in doubles with a pair of victories. At No. 1 doubles, UM’s duo of Andrew Golub (Miami, Fla.) and Colin Purcell (Louisville, Ky.) took an 8-3 victory over Clemson’s Nathan Thompson/Jarmaine Jenkins. At No. 3 doubles, Miami’s Todd Widom (Coral Springs, Fla.) and Eric Hechtman (Miami, Fla.) knocked off Clemson’s Sander Koning/John Boetsch by an 8-6 margin. Clemson’s Damiisa Robinson/Ash Misquith defeated Miami’s Luis Manrique (Key Biscayne, Fla.) and John Hoyes (Miami, Fla.) by a score of 8-6.

In singles, the Hurricanes took a pair of straight sets victories, a retirement and a three-set battle to clinch the match.

The nation’s 18th-ranked collegiate player, Miami’s Todd Widom, defeated Clemson’s Nathan Thompson when Thompson had to retire in the second set. Widom had won the first set 6-0 before played stopped. Widom improved to 8-2 this spring with the victory. Miami’s Andrew Golub took a gutsy victory at No. 2 with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Clemson’s Sander Koning. At No. 4, Miami’s Colin Purcell defeated Clemson’s Jarmaine Jenkins in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, and the Hurricanes’ No. 5 singles player, Eric Hechtman, defeated Clemson’s Damiisa Robinson in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

Clemson took wins at No. 3 singles and No. 6 singles. At No. 3, The Tigers’ Micah Thompson defeated UM’s Luis Manrique, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. At No. 6, Clemson’s John Boetsch defeated UM’s John Hoyes, the nation’s 86th-ranked collegian, by a count of 7-5, 6-2.

The Hurricanes will host Virginia Tech in a BIG EAST Conference match Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

Miami vs. Clemson

Singles

1. No. 18 Todd Widom (UM) def. Nathan Thompson (CU) 6-0, retired2. Andrew Golub (UM) def. Sander Koning (CU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-13. Micah Thompson (CU) def. Luis Manrique (UM) 3-6, 6-3, 6-24. Colin Purcell (UM) def. Jarmaine Jenkins (CU) 6-3, 6-25. Eric Hechtman (UM) def. Damiisa Robinson (CU) 7-5, 7-56. John Boetsch (CU) def. John Hoyes (UM) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles1. Golub/Purcell (UM) def. Thompson/Jenkins (CU) 8-32. Robinson/Misquith (CU) def. Manrique/Hoyes (UM) 8-63. Widom/Hechtman (UM) def. Koning/Boetsch (CU) 8-6

-30-