Men's Tennis Falls to UCLA in NCAA Round of 16
May 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS… – The No. 22 University of Miami men’s tennis team saw its 2009 season come to a close with a 4-1 loss to No. 7 UCLA in the NCAA’s Round of 16 on Thursday evening at Texas A&M’s George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
Sophomore Christian Blöcker scored the lone point for the Hurricanes (16-9) with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the No. 5 position to win his second-straight match in NCAA championship play.
However it wasn’t enough to keep Miami’s postseason run alive. After defeating No. 53 Columbia, 4-0, and No. 10 Florida, 4-3, in the Gainesville Regional last week, the Hurricanes advanced to the Round of 16 for the second time in the last four years. But Miami quickly found itself trailing 2-0.
UCLA (20-4) claimed the doubles point courtesy of wins at No. 2 and 3, and then extended its lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles by 49th-ranked Haythem Abid.
Blöckernotched his own straight-sets victory to get the Hurricanes within one at 2-1, but a 6-2, 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot by Harel Srugo opened the Bruins lead back up to 3-1.
Freshman Ignacio Taboada rallied to push his match at No. 6 into a third set, while 12th-ranked Daniel Vallverdu and sophomore Keith Crowley battled to stay alive in their matches at No. 1 and 4, respectively.
But UCLA clinched the win in their 33rd-straight Round of 16 with the 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) decision at No. 4 by Holden Seguso.
“In order to beat a team like UCLA you have to play six extraordinary singles matches and great doubles,” said fifth-year head Miami coach Mario Rincon. “They took it to us in doubles. I think we were a bit nervous early on and UCLA has the experience of being here before. You need that to get used to this type of pressure and atmosphere. Regardless, I’m so proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished this season.”
Although team competition has come to a close for the Hurricanes, Vallverdu – a four-time All-American – plays on in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championships from May 20-25 at Texas A&M. Vallverdu is making his fourth-straight NCAA appearance – and his third straight in the singles bracket, having advanced to the Round of 32 last year and the Round of 16 as a sophomore. He enters the 2009 field as a 9-16 seed among the 64 participating student-athletes.
“Our seniors – David [Rosenfeld] and Dani [Vallverdu] – have been great for this Miami program. They have been fantastic in helping to lead this program to where it is today. They have been leaders, and it has been a pleasure to coach every day they’ve been with us.”
No. 7 UCLA 4, No. 22 Miami 1
Singles
1. #64 Matt Brooklyn (UCLA) vs. #13 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
2. #49 Haythem Abid (UCLA) def. David Rosenfeld (UM) 6-2, 6-0
3. Harel Srugo (UCLA) def. Carl Sundberg (UM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Holden Seguso (UCLA) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
5. Christian Blocker (UM) def. #100 Michael Look (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
6. #107 Nick Meister (UCLA) vs. Ignacio Taboada (UM) 7-5, 1-6, 1-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 5, 3, 4
Doubles
1. #52 Michael Look/Nick Meister (UCLA) vs. #38 Daniel Vallverdu/David Rosenfeld (UM) 4-5, unfinished
2. #80 Amit Inbar/Harel Srugo (UCLA) def. David Simon/Christian Blocker (UM) 8-4
3. Haythem Abid/Holden Seguso (UCLA) def. Carl Sundberg/Keith Crowley (UM) 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2
