Vallverdu Advances to ITA National Indoor Championships Semifinals
Nov. 7, 2008
Charlottesville, Va. – No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu of the University of Miami men’s tennis team knocked off two top-25 opponents on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Vallverdu (6-1) picked up his fifth-straight win on Friday afternoon, defeating Oklahoma’s 22nd-ranked Andrei Daescu in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, in the Round of 16 to stay alive in the tournament.
Later in the day, the Miami senior was victorious over Southern Cal’s fifth-ranked Robert Farah to extend his winning streak to six-straight matches. Vallverdu outlasted his opponent, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, and moves on to Saturday’s semifinal where he will face No. 9 Bryan Koniecko of Ohio State at 10 a.m. Vallverdu defeated Koniecko, 6-2, 7-6, in their last meeting in 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.
Koniecko advances to the semifinals after upsetting top-ranked Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State, 6-2, 6-2, in today’s quarterfinals.
“I’m proud of Dani’s mental toughness,” said Miami head coach Mario Rincon. “He was able to mix his shots and throw his opponent off his rhythm.”
The ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships features some of the best collegiate tennis players, including eight of the top-nine ranked men’s players in the country. The 32-player singles field and 16-team doubles field include qualifiers from ITA Regional Championships, ITA National Small College champions, winners of ITA Men’s All-American Tennis Championships and at-large selections by the ITA National Tournament Committee.
ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships
Singles Round of 8 (Quarterfinals)
No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu (Miami) def. No. 5 Robert Farah (Southern Cal), 7-6, 2-6, 6-1
Singles Round of 16
No. 3 Daniel Vallverdu (Miami) def. No. 22 Andrei Daescu (Oklahoma), 6-4, 6-2
