Vallverdu and Men's Tennis Edges Clemson, 4-3
March 9, 2008
Clemson, S.C… With the match on the line, third-ranked All-American Daniel Vallverdu bounced back from a slow start to claim the win at the top-singles position, lifting the 24th-ranked University of Miami men’s tennis team to its fourth-straight victory with a 4-3 defeat of No. 60 Clemson. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
With the win, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Miami improved to 8-2 overall and remains undefeated in ACC play at 2-0. The Tigers fell to 9-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
“We pulled out a great win today,” said assistant Miami coach CJ Weber. “We dropped the doubles point, but the team pulled together and came back to win a great one. It certainly feels good to start out 2-0 in conference play.”
Struggling with the cold weather, the Hurricanes failed to claim the doubles point for just the second time this season. The nation’s 15th-ranked pair of Vallverdu and Carl Sundberg snapped a five-match win streak, falling to Clemson’s Derek DiFazio and Ike Belk, 9-8, in the No. 1 spot, while the Tigers were also victorious in the No. 3 position to claim the point.
Miami’s 39th-ranked duo of Vivek Subramanian and David Rosenfeld improved to 8-1 in dual matches with an 8-6 win in the No. 2 spot.
But the Hurricanes warmed up in time for singles play, as Rosenfeld, Sundberg and Keith Crowley picked up dominating straight sets wins to knot the match at 3-all. Vallverdu clinched the match for the Hurricanes with the 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1 over Clemson’s Carlos Alvarez.
“Winning today was great for us,” said Vallverdu. “We had a really slow start in doubles play with the cold, and then we got warmer and shoved some improvement. When we started singles play, we really stepped up and played well. David [Rosenfeld] had a great match and was able to score quickly.
“I was the last one playing, so there was no other choice. I had to go out there and get the match for us. I felt strong and well conditioned. It was a great win for us and now we have to get ready for our next match.”
Next up for the Hurricanes is a return home to the NeilSchiffTennisCenter with a 2 p.m. match versus Purdue on Thurs., March 13. Admission is free.
No. 24 Miami 4, No. 60 Clemson 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. Carlos Alvarez (CU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 101 David Rosenfeld (UM) def. Gera Boryachinskiy (CU), 6-2, 6-1
3. Kevin Fleck (CU) def. Vivek Subramanian (UM), 6-2, 7-5
4. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Ike Belk (CU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Keith Crowley (UM) def. Derek DiFazio (CU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Kevin Gallaway (CU) def. JC Whitner (UM), 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Derek DiFazio/Ike Belk (CU) def. No. 15 Daniel Vallverdu/Carl Sundberg (UM), 9-8
2. No. 39 Vivek Subramanian/David Rosenfeld (UM) def. Kevin Fleck/Carlos Alvarez, 8-6
3. Gera Borayachinskiy/Kevin Gallaway (CU) def. Keith Crowley/Hector Nieto (UM), 8-6
