Tenth-ranked Hurricanes Host Wake Forest, NC State in Final Regular Season Matches
April 13, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Tenth-ranked Miami will wrap up the 2006 regular season this weekend, hosting No. 26 Wake Forest Friday at 1 p.m. and No. 34 NC State Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Sunday’s match will mark the final regular season home match for four UM seniors – Tim Krebs, Eric Hechtman, John Hoyes and P.J. Passalacqua.
Coming off a week that saw Miami post two impressive road victories, including a 4-3 decision over then No. 8 Virginia, who hadn’t lost an ACC match in two seasons, second year head coach Mario Rincon and the Hurricanes are 15-3 overall and sit in third place in the ACC with a 7-2 mark in league play.
The Hurricanes climbed four spots from No. 14 in last week’s poll to the highest ranking a UM team has earned since the 1993-94 squad sat at ninth place
Leading the UM contingent is junior Luigi D’Agord, who is currently ranked No. 5 nationally in singles behind an overall record of 29-4 and a perfect unbeaten mark of 9-0 in ACC matches.
D’Agord’s 29 victories marks the seventh-highest single season total in UM history.
D’Agord and freshman Daniel Vallverdu are ranked No. 30 as a doubles team.
With an overall record of 20-6 and an ACC mark of 8-0, Hoyes joins D’Agord as the only two players in the ACC to boast undefeated records in league play among players participating in more than one match.
Also of note is Hechtman who continues to move up in the UM record books. Earlier this season, he became Miami’s all-time leader in career doubles victories – he now has 83 career wins – and his 21 doubles victories this seasons marks the eighth-highest single season total in UM history.
Equally impressive in singles, Hechtman currently sits at seventh place all-time in career victories with a career record of 80-41.
Wake Forest travels to Coral Gables with an overall record of 14-7 and a 6-3 record in league matches.
The Demon Deacons’ lineup boasts two nationally ranked players in 13th-ranked Todd Paul and 94th-ranked Andrew Hamar. Together, Paul and Hamar form the nation’s 42nd-ranked doubles tandem.NC State will take on Florida State Friday prior to heading to Miami. The Wolfpack are 20-7 this season, marking the highest win total in school history, and are 3-6 in ACC play.
The trip to UM will be a homecoming of sorts for the Wolfpack’s Val Banada, a native of Miami who’s sister, Audrey, plays for the UM women’s tennis team.
Admission to both matches is free.
