No. 28 Miami Men's Tennis Defeats No. 35 Wake Forest, 5-2

Coral Gables, Fla.—The No. 28 University of Miami men’s tennis team (11-5, 5-1 ACC) defeated No. 35 Wake Forest, 5-2 on Friday for their second win in a row, and their fifth in the last six matches.

“It was a great win for us on the road. Wake Forest is a great team, and every time we meet, it’s always a tight match,” Head Coach Mario Rincon said. “Any ACC win on the road is huge.”

Miami started off doubles with the senior tandem of Carl Sundberg and Christian Blocker defeating Wake Forest’s Danny Kreyman and Jonathan Wolff, 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.  The win gave Sundberg 62 career doubles victories, the eight most in school history.

Then it was two first-year Hurricanes—freshman Pedro Ast and transfer-senior Eduardo Pavia—defeating Wake Forest’s Tripper Carleton and Zach Leslie, 8-5.

“I thought we played great in doubles, especially at number two doubles. They closed out their match early, and really took some pressure off the other two courts,” Rincon said.

In singles play, the Demon Deacons tied the match with a win at No. 3 singles.  Miami then retook the lead as Pavia defeated Wake Forest’s David Hopkins 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.

After Wake Forest tied the match again, freshman Gabriel Flores gave Miami the lead for good with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles over Adam Lee of Wake Forest.

Senior Keith Crowley, playing at No. 2 singles, then got one of his biggest wins of the season, securing the match with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Carleton, who entered the match ranked No. 113.  With a win on Sunday against NC State, Crowley would move into the top 25 all-time for singles wins at UM.

“We were able to come out and get quick sets at number two, four, five, and six,” Rincon said. “That really put the pressure on Wake Forest, and our guys came through.”

The win came on Assistant Coach CJ Weber’s birthday.

“The team came out really focused and determined, which is what you look for against a quality opponent,” Weber said. “The guys gave me a great birthday present.”

Senior Carl Sundberg came into singles hoping to move up in the all-time singles rankings as well.  Playing at No. 4 singles, Sundberg took the first set from Kreyman, 6-4, but then dropped the second set, 2-6.  In the third set, Sundberg took command, blanking Kreyman, 6-0 to give the Hurricanes the 5-2 final margin.  With 65 career singles wins, Sundberg is now tied for 16th all-time.

“Watching Carl come in as a freshman, he has always been such a hard worker, which is why he has been able to be so consistent,” Weber said. “It’s been a pleasure to coach Carl and watch him grow and improve as a player.”

Next up for the ‘Canes is a short trip from Winston-Salem to Raleigh, N.C. for a meeting with the No. 59 NC State Wolfpack on Sunday.  Match time is scheduled for noon.  You can follow the match live, here: http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/liveresults.html