Men's Tennis Grabs First ACC Win Over No. 24 Clemson
March 16, 2007
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team returned to its winning ways, scoring the first four points of the match to topple 24th-ranked Clemson, 5-2, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on a balmy Friday afternoon.
The victory snapped a six-match skid for the No. 73 Hurricanes, who have played seven-straight top-30 opponents, including five of those on the road. The win moves Miami (5-7, 1-1 ACC) to 23-18 versus Clemson (18-5, 1-2 ACC) all-time, yet is the first victory for the Hurricanes over the Tigers since joining the ACC in 2004-05.
“Today we went out there and beat a very talented Clemson team,” said third-year Miami head coach Mario Rincon. “Our guys really felt that we needed a win, and they put together a great team effort to accomplish that.”
The determined and focused Miami squad earned the doubles point, with wins at the top-two spots. The 15th-ranked duo of Josh Cohen (Weston, Fla./Laurel Springs) and Luigi D’Agord (Freeport, Bahamas) improved to 12-3 on the year, cruising to an 8-3 win over the 26th-ranked pair of Clement Reix and Ryan Young at the No. 1 position, while the `Canes’ No. 2 tandem of Daniel Vallverdu (Valencia, Venezuela) and Vivek Subramanian (East Brunswick, N.J.) downed Clemson’s Jarmaine Jenkins and Kevin Fleck, 8-4.
The top-flight singles competition featured a duel between Miami’s 44th-ranked D’Agord and Clemson’s 72nd-ranked Reix – who knocked D’Agord out of the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16 in the last postseason. Reix claimed the first set, 4-6, but D’Agord regrouped and fired back to claim the next two sets, 6-1, 6-1. D’Agord improved to 13-3 overall and remains undefeated in the ACC at 2-0.
Playing at the No. 4 position, Cohen used straight sets to dispose of Clemson’s Rok Bizjack, 6-2, 6-4. With the victory, Cohen improved to 12-8 on the year and picked up his 83rd career singles win to rank third in UM history in career wins. The senior is also second in doubles victories with 73, trailing UM’s all-time leader John Eagleton by just eight wins.
Vallverdu sealed the win for the Hurricanes with a victory at No. 2, using straight sets to defeat Jenkins, 6-2, 6-4. It was the second-straight win for the 65th-ranked player, as he improved to 18-6 on the year.
Freshman Hector Nieto (Key Biscayne, Fla./Coral Gables) added a fifth point for the `Canes with his first career ACC victory. He came from behind to beat Clemson’s Kevin Fleck, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8, in the No. 6 spot.
“I thought Danny played awesome today,” added Coach Rincon. “And it’s always great to have Luigi – one of the best players in the country – who will go out there and come back with a win.
Our No. 3 doubles (Nieto and freshman J.C. Whitner) showed some improvement, and I believe they are going to continue to get better.”
Miami returns to the court on Sunday with a non-conference match versus No. 17 Rice (10-5), who comes off Friday’s 5-2 loss at No. 31 Florida State. Sunday’s match will begin at noon and admission is free. Fans will be treated to complementary pizza during the match and a youth clinic for children 13 and under will follow the match.
Miami 5, Clemson 2
Singles
1. No. 44 Luigi D’Agord (UM) def. No. 72 Clement Reix (CU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
2. No. 65 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. Jarmaine Jenkins (CU), 6-2, 6-4
3. Ryan Young (CU) def. Vivek Subramanian (UM), 7-5, 6-2
4. Josh Cohen (UM) def. Rok Bizjak (CU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Carlos Alvarez (CU) def. J.C. Whitner (UM), 6-2, 6-0
6. Hector Nieto (UM) def. Kevin Fleck (CU), 4-6, 7-5, 10-8
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2*, 5, 3, 6
Doubles
1. No. 15 Cohen/D’Agord (UM) def. No. 26 Reix/Young (CU), 8-3
2. Vallverdu/Subramanian (UM) def. Jenkins/Fleck (CU), 8-4
3. Bizjak/Alvarez (CU) def. Nieto/Whitner (UM), 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2*, 3
