Miami Opens Dual Play Saturday with FAU

Jan. 27, 2006

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami will officially open up the 2006 dual match season Saturday, hosting in-state rival FAU at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center at 12 noon.

The Hurricanes, ranked 39th overall in the latest Fila/ITA rankings, take to the spring season under the direction of second-year head coach Mario Rincon, who posted an overall dual record of 12-11 in 2005.

Miami’s roster includes two of the nation’s top singles players in 25th-ranked junior Luigi D’Agord and 87th-ranked junior Josh Cohen.

D’Agord, an All-SEC transfer from Alabama, posted an overall record of 11-3 this fall highlighted by a semifinal appearance at the UVA Fall Classic in his first season with the Hurricanes.

Cohen went 8-3 over the fall. Last season he posted an overall record of 23-12, including a 6-4 mark in conference play to earn All-ACC honors. He also became the first UM player to advance to the NCAA Tournament since 2003.

Also returning this spring in what will be their final seasons are seniors Tim Krebs, Eric Hechtman and John Hoyes.

Last season, Krebs posted an overall dual record of 12-8 including a 3-2 mark at No. 1 and an 8-5 mark at No. 2. Hechtman finished his junior season with a dual match record of 14-6 and an ACC record of 5-6 while Hoyes finished with a 10-9 dual record.

Sophomore Vivek Subramanian and junior P.J. Passalacqua round out UM’s returning letterwinners.

Freshman Danny Vallverdu will also look to make an impact, coming to Miami via Venezuela.

Admission to Saturday’s match, as well as all home matches, is free.