May 24, 2007
Updated NCAA Singles Bracket | Updated NCAA Doubles Bracket
Athens, Ga. – University of Miami senior Luigi D’Agord (Freeport, Bahamas) and sophomore Daniel Vallverdu (Valencia, Venezuela) each used straight sets to knock off second-round opponents in singles competition, while D’Agord and senior Josh Cohen (Weston, Fla./Laurel Springs) were victorious in the first round of doubles play, as all the Hurricanes advance to Friday’s Round of 16 at the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship at the University of Georgia’s Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Thursday afternoon.
Eighth-seeded D’Agord (27-4) used straight sets to oust Michigan’s No. 50 Matko Maravic, 6-3, 6-2, from NCAA Championship play. With the first set tied at three-all, D’Agord went on a three-game tear to take the first set 6-3. He then cruised to the 4-1 lead in the second set, before Maravic put up a battle over the final three games.
With the win, D’Agord improves to 3-0 versus Maravic, and advances to Friday’s Round of 16 for the second-straight season. The ninth-ranked senior – who earned his second-straight All-America honors in both singles and doubles due to being seeded in both events – will take on Ohio State’s 20th-ranked sophomore Bryan Koniecko, who advanced on a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 9-16 seed Erling Tveit of Ole Miss. Earlier this season, D’Agord knocked off Koniecko, 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10) in dual-match play.
“I’m enjoying the tournament very much,” said D’Agord. “And I’m happy for both Josh and Danny in their becoming All-Americans.”
Vallverdu (26-9) picked up his fourth-straight victory, downing OklahomaState’s 30th-ranked Ivan Puchkarov, 6-4, 6-2, for the second time this year. While the first set was closely contested, Miami’s 53rd-ranked sophomore won the final five games of the second set for his second-straight upset in his first NCAA Championship singles appearance, en route to a Sweet 16 berth and his first All-America honors in singles competition.
Vallverdu will take on OhioState’s fifth-seeded Steven Moneke, who defeated Rice’s No. 38 Ben Harknett, 7-6, 7-5 to advance. Vallverdu downed then-No. 7 Moneke, 6-3, 6-4 earlier this season in dual-match play.
“It is a great tournament here in Athens,” noted Vallverdu. “I’m enjoying my time around Luigi and Josh, and I will miss them very much once the season ends.”
But the season remains very much alive for the `Canes, as the 5-8 seeded duo of D’Agord and Cohen (21-7) battled past Texas Tech’s 33rd ranked pair of Christian Rojmar and Bojan Szumanski, 7-6, 6-1, in the first round of doubles competition to qualify for Friday’s Round of 16. With the win, Cohen – who earned his first All-America honors with the pair’s seeding – took sole possession of the Miami record for doubles wins with 82 over his four-year career. The Hurricanes’ fifth-ranked pair will face Ole Miss’ No. 24 duo of Eric Claesson/Erling Tveit on Friday.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be an All-American,” said Cohen. “Not many teams have three All-Americans. It says a lot about our program.”
Live results for all NCAA matches and live web streaming of select matches are available online at www.georgiadogs.com.
NCAA Singles Championship – Round of 32
8-seed/No. 9 Luigi D’Agord (Miami) def. No. 50 Matko Maravic (Michigan), 6-3, 6-2
No. 53 Daniel Vallverdu (Miami) def. No. 30 Ivan Puchkarov (OklahomaState), 6-4, 6-2
NCAA Doubles Championship – Round of 32
Josh Cohen/Luigi D’Agord (Miami) def. Christian Rojma/Bojan Szumanksi (Texas Tech), 7-6, 6-1