No. 25 Miami Edges Clemson, Improves to 3-0 in ACC
March 20, 2011
CORAL GABLES, FLA. – Eduardo Pavia rallied for the 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles to lead the 25th-ranked University of Miami men’s tennis team to the 4-3 win over visiting Clemson on Sunday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
The Hurricanes (9-4, 3-0) remain undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference play and are 5-1 this season in matches decided by a point.
Miami won all three doubles matches to take the early 1-0 lead, and increased its advantage to 3-1 with straight-sets singles victories by Carl Sundberg at No. 3 and Gabriel Flores at No. 5 – with his team-best seventh-straight win to improve to 15-10 as a true freshman.
But the No. 57 Tigers (11-4, 0-2) responded with wins at No. 1 and No. 6 to tie the match up at 3-all.
Pavia – pairing with Pedro Ast – had already dispatched of Gerardo Meza, his opponent at No. 4, in doubles play, but had do it again on his own with the match on the line.
“I felt at the beginning that I wasn’t playing my best tennis,” said Pavia. “There were points in the match that I felt like I was getting back and playing better, but not consistently so I knew I wasn’t at my best. I was trying to staying steady, make more balls and make a run since I knew he was tired.”
Pavia and Meza traded games to open the third set and were tied at 2-2 before Pavia managed to claim four of the next five games for the 6-3 third-set victory, clinching the match for the Hurricanes with his team-high 16th singles win of the season.
“Clemson fought really hard today and it was a great conference builder for us,” said head Miami coach Mario Rincon. “It gives us great momentum as we continue with our challenging conference schedule. Our guys are still improving and we still need to get better, but we’re really proud of them. They’re doing what we ask them to do and continue to work really hard.”
“We had a tough loss on Friday against Minnesota, but I’m very proud of how the guys bounced back with the win today,” added Miami volunteer assistant Laurence Tieleman. “It was another tight one, but I think our fitness was key today.”
The Hurricanes close their five-match homestand with a pair of conference matches at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center this weekend. Miami faces No. 2 Virginia on Fri., March 25, at 3 p.m., followed by No. 30 Virginia Tech on Sun., March 27, at Noon. Admission is free to all regular-season matches.
#25 Miami 4, #57 Clemson 3
Singles
1. #106 Derek DiFazio (CU) def. Christian Blocker (UM) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Yannick Maden (CU) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-4, 6-3
3. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Kevin Galloway (CU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Eduardo Pavia (UM) def. Gerardo Meza (CU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
5. Gabriel Flores (UM) def. Dominique Maden (CU) 7-6, 6-4
6. Zachary Rigsby (CU) def. Diego Soto (UM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 1, 6, 4*
Doubles
1. Keith Crowley/Waylon Chin (UM) def. Yannick Maden/Zachary Rigsby (CU) 9-8 (7-4)
2. Christian Blocker/Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Derek DiFazio/Robert Pietrucha (CU) 8-6
3. Eduardo Pavia/Pedro Ast (UM) def. Gerardo Meza/Juan Bolona (CU) 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 2*, 1
