D'Agord Rolls Into NCAA Men's Tennis Quarterfinals
May 25, 2007
Athens, Ga. – The University of Miami split a pair of singles matches versus opponents from Ohio State in Friday’s NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship Round of 16, as four-time senior All-American Luigi D’Agord (Freeport, Bahamas) advances to Saturday’s quarterfinals and two-time sophomore All-American Daniel Vallverdu (Valencia, Venezuela) sees his 2007 campaign come to a close.
The eighth-seeded D’Agord (28-4) cruised past Ohio State’s 20th-ranked sophomore Bryan Koniecko, 6-2, 6-3, in his second win over the Buckeye this season. Seven of the top-eight seeded players advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals, where D’Agord will square off versus Illinois’ fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson, who qualified courtesy of a 6-3, 7-6 win over Florida’s Greg Ouellette earlier today.
Vallverdu (26-10) got off to a quick start in his Sweet 16 match versus Ohio State’s fifth-seeded Steven Moneke – who he had defeated in straight sets earlier this season – before falling 7-5, 6-3. The sophomore jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the first set, which Moneke battled back to tie. Vallverdu then led again at 5-4, but wouldn’t win another game as Moneke came back for the 7-5 first-set win. Vallverdu led again early in the second set, 3-2, but would go on to fall 6-3.
Miami’s 5-8 seeded duo of D’Agord and senior Josh Cohen (Weston, Fla./Laurel Springs) saw its postseason run come to a close, falling to Ole Miss’ 24th-ranked pair of Eric Claesson and Erling Tveit, 6-3, 7-5 in the Round of 16. Cohen wraps up his collegiate career as the Hurricanes’ winningest player with a combined 174 wins over his four-year career and as Miami’s leader in doubles wins with 82.
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 16
8-seed/No. 9 Luigi D’Agord (Miami) def. No. 20 Bryan Koniecko (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-3
5-seed/No. 6 Steven Moneke (Ohio State) def. No. 53 Daniel Vallverdu (Miami), 7-5, 6-3
NCAA Doubles Championship – Round of 16
No. 24 Eric Claesson/Erling Tveit (Ole Miss) def. 5-8 seed/No. 5 Josh Cohen/Luigi D’Agord (Miami), 6-3, 7-5
