Carrega's Marathon Match Moves Miami Into the ACC Semifinals
April 18, 2008
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<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – In a match that lasted nearly five hours, the seventh-seeded University of Miami men’s tennis team upset second-seeded North Carolina, 4-3, in the second round of the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Championship Friday afternoon at SanlandoPark. UM sophomore Barnabas Carrega out-lasted UNC’s Will Plyler, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 in the No. 6 singles position — in a match that lasted over three hours on its own — to secure the victory for the Hurricanes.
“Barney was the man of the hour for us today,” head coach Mario Rincon said of Carrega. “We knew if he just kept battling through it, he would be able to wear his opponent down and it showed in the third set.”
Miami (15-6) will now move on to face No. 3 seed FloridaState (19-4) at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Seminoles advanced into the semifinal round they shut-out Duke, 4-0, Friday.
With the score knotted at three, nearly everyone’s attention at <?xml:namespace prefix=”u1″?>SanlandoPark’s tennis facility was turned to the sixth court between UM and UNC, where Carrega and Plyler battled back in forth for the chance to move on in the championship.
The match opened with Plyler gaining early momentum, winning the first set, 6-2. With the temperatures in the mid-80’s, both players began to show signs of exhaustion as the second set moved on. The two battled back and forth before Carrega edged him out, 7-6 (3), to even the score. Late in the second set and early on in the third, Plyler showed even more signs of fatigue and Carrega was eventually able to take advantage of that to pull away for the 6-1 win in the third set.
The Hurricanes jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after taking two of three doubles matches of the Tar Heels. After UM dropped the first doubles match, 8-5, at No. 2, Crowley and Hector Nieto tied it up with an 8-5 win of their won at No. 3. With the point coming down to the top position, the No. 7 team of Vallverdu and Sundberg pulled through, 8-4, over Kearney and Fogleman.
North Carolina took a 2-1 lead after Taylor Fogleman beat Keith Crawley, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 and Stefan Hardy downed Vivek Subramanian, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2. No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu would then even it up at 2-2 with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ben Carlotti in the top singles position. Carl Sundberg followed Vallverdu’s win up with a solid 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 before David Rosenfeld dropped a close battle at No. 3, 7-5, 7-5, to set up the dramatic ending for the Carrega and the `Canes.
With the win, the 25th-ranked Hurricanes won their fifth straight match, improving to 5-0 in the month of April.
Click here for complete coverage of the ACC Men’s Tennis Championship. Action from Altamonte Springs will be made available On-Demand every night of the championship at 8 p.m. on www.ACCSelect.com.
Visit www.hurricanesports.com for live results of Saturday’s match between the Hurricanes and the Seminoles.
No. 7 Miami 4, No. 2 North Carolina 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. Ben Carlotti (UNC), 6-2, 6-2
2. Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. Vivek Subramanian (UM), 6-2, 6-4
3. Chris Kearney (UNC) def. David Rosenfeld (UM), 7-5, 7-5
4. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Clay Donato (UNC), 6-3, 6-3
5. Taylor Fogleman (UNC) def. Keith Crowley (UM), 6-1, 6-1
6. Barnabas Carrega (UM) Will Plyler (UNC), 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 1, 4, 3, 6*
Doubles
1. No. 7 Daniel Vallverdu/Carl Sundberg (UM) def. No. 4 Chris Kearney/Taylor Fogleman (UNC), 8-4
2. Clay Donato/Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. No. 49 David Rosenfeld/Vivek Subramanian (UM), 8-5
3. Keith Crowley/Hector Nieto (UM) def. David Stone/Tristan Heinrich (UNC), 8-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
