Men's Tennis Advances to ITA Kick-Off Site Finals
Jan. 29, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – Senior Waylon Chin battled back in No. 1 singles competition to clinch the 4-3 win for the 44th-ranked University of Miami men’s tennis team over No. 32 Arizona in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
“It was a great day for Miami tennis,” said head coach Mario Rincon. “We beat a quality opponent that never stopped fighting. We had to come from behind on the last two courts being down a set in each match, and our guys were tough and played with confidence.”
With the match knotted at 3-all, Chin came back after dropping the first set to defeat Arizona’s Andres Carrasco, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, to send the Hurricanes (2-1) into a 4 p.m. showdown on Sunday with 10th-ranked host Texas A&M (2-0) for the opportunity to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle. The Aggies edged No. 40 Mississippi State, 4-3, on Saturday for their 19th-straight home win.
Arizona took the doubles point and led 3-1 early, but Miami got stronger as the match continued. Christian Blocker evened the match at 2-2 with the 6-4, 6-4 straight sets victory at No. 2 over Jay Goldman, and then Keith Crowley kept things going for the ‘Canes, using straight sets to defeat Giacomo Miccini at No. 3, 6-4, 6-4 to tie the score at 3-all and set up the match winner for Chin.
“I’m so proud of our guys for the way they competed and left it all on the court,” said Rincon. “Waylon clinched a huge match for us today. Christian started our come back playing a great match from beginning to end. He looked great out there. Keith was able to impose his game as the match went on. His game is improving in many areas. Eduardo had a quick match, as he was able to dominate with his forehand.”
“We won this match with our fitness, our toughness and with our pride,” added assistant coach CJ Weber. “Our guys demonstrated how well we can come together as a team.”
“We competed hard today from the first minute to the last and never gave up,” said senior Christian Blöcker, who picked up a win with Crowley at No. 1 doubles. “Hard work always pays off at some point and that’s exactly what happened today.”
Miami is among 60 teams selected from across the country, competing in four-team fields across 15 sites. The 15 teams that win both matches at each site will be invited to compete in the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship from Feb. 18-21 in Seattle, Wash.
#44 Miami 4, #32 Arizona 3
Singles
1. Waylon Chin (UM) def. Andres Carrasco (AZ) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
2. Christian Blocker (UM) def. Jay Goldman (AZ) 6-4, 6-4
3. Keith Crowley (UM) def. Giacomo Miccini (AZ) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Jason Zafiros (AZ) def. Carl Sundberg (UM) 6-4, 6-3
5. Andre Vidaller (AZ) def. Diego Soto (UM) 6-4, 6-2
6. Eduardo Pavia (UM) def. Borja Malo (AZ) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 6, 2, 5, 3, 1*
Doubles
1. Keith Crowley/Christian Blocker (UM) def. Giacomo Miccini/Jay Goldman (AZ) 8-6
2. Andres Carrasco/Borja Malo (AZ) def. Carl Sundberg/Pedro Ast (UM) 9-7
3. Jason Zafiros/Andre Vidaller (AZ) def. Waylon Chin/Eduardo Pavia (UM) 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
