Hurricanes' Upset Bid Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to No. 4 Duke
March 31, 2006
CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla.– It came down to one match but the 13th ranked Hurricanes’ upset bid fell short in a 4-3 loss to the fourth ranked Duke Blue Devils in Atlantic Coast Conference action at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Friday afternoon.
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With the match score tied at 3-3, all eyes turned to court No. 5 where Miami’s Eric Hechtman and Duke’s Kiril Dimitrov where battling in the third set. Hechtman claimed the first set 6-3 but couldn’t hold of Dimitrov who won the second set 6-1. Though Hechtman, who battled cramps throughout the set, was up 4-2, Dimitrov claimed the set 7-5 to give the Blue Devils the match victory.
The loss snaps the Hurricanes’ six-match win streak and drops their record to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in ACC play. The Blue Devils improve to 12-3 overall and 4-0 in the ACC.
The match opened up with Duke winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 match lead. It is only the second time in Miami’s 15 matches that the Hurricanes have not won the doubles point. UM did pick up a win at the No. 1 doubles position, however, with 46th ranked Daniel Vallverdu and Luigi D’Agord upsetting Duke’s 29th ranked Joey Atas/Jonathan Stokke pair, 8-5.
Senior John Hoyes put the Hurricanes on the board with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Stephan Amritraj at the No. 6 position.
After a loss at court No. 2, Miami rallied with wins at the No. 4 and No. 1 positions to take a 3-2 match lead. D’Agord, a junior ranked seventh in the nation, claimed another upset when he topped No. 5 Ludovic Walter 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 at the top of the lineup. Senior Tim Krebs came up big in the second set of his match to top Joey Atas, 6-1, 7-6 at the four slot.
The Blue Devils then went on to win at both the No. 3 and No. 5 positions, to hold off Miami 4-3.
The Hurricanes continue their home-stand Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. when they host No. 8 North Carolina. Admission to the NeilSchiffTennisCenter is FREE.
