No. 25 Miami Drops Regular-Season Finale at No. 10 Duke
April 17, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 25 University of Miami men’s tennis squad dropped its regular-season finale at 10th-ranked Duke, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.
It was the first time this season the Hurricanes fell in back-to-back matches, however Miami has a few days to regroup before heading to Cary, N.C., for the ACC Tournament, which runs from April 21-24. Teams await the release of the final ACC seedings to find out when they play, however the top-four seeds will enjoy a first-round bye, while the remaining eight teams open first-round play on Thurs., April 21.
Miami (14-7, 8-3) fell at No. 1 doubles to Duke’s 7th-ranked duo, however the Hurricanes were dominant at both No. 2 and 3 doubles, winning both for the early 1-0 advantage. Senior Keith Crowley and freshman Omar Aly remained undefeated, improving to 4-0 with the 8-4 win over Duke’s David Holland and Chris Mengel at No. 2. At No. 3, UM senior Eduardo Pavia and freshman Pedro Ast moved to 8-1 in league play, cruising past Jared Pinsky and Fred Saba, 8-3, to clinch the doubles point.
As singles play got underway, the Blue Devils took the 2-1 lead with straight-sets wins at No. 6 and No. 3. Senior All-American Carl Sundberg (19-11, 9-2) picked up his team-high ninth ACC win of the season with his seventh-straight victory, a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Fred Saba at No. 4, to knot the match at 2-all.
However Duke (18-8, 9-2) would win the final three singles matches and hand Miami the 5-2 loss.
#10 Duke 5, #25 Miami 2
Singles
1. #6 Henrique Cunha (DUKE) def. Christian Blocker (UM) 6-3, 6-4
2. #9 Reid Carleton (DUKE) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Chris Mengel (DUKE) def. Waylon Chin (UM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Fred Saba (DUKE) 6-3, 6-3
5. Torsten Wietoska (DUKE) def. Eduardo Pavia (UM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Luke Marchese (DUKE) def. Gabriel Flores (UM) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 1*, 5
Doubles
1. #7 Reid Carleton/Henrique Cunha (DUKE) def. Christian Blocker/Carl Sundberg (UM) 8-1
2. Omar Aly/Keith Crowley (UM) def. David Holland/Chris Mengel (DUKE) 8-4
3. Pedro Ast/Eduardo Pavia (UM) def. Jared Pinksy/Fred Saba (DUKE) 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
