Men's Tennis Wins NCAA Tournament Opener
May 13, 2011
Gainesville, Fla… Freshman Gabriel Flores completed a Hurricane rally as the No. 27 University of Miami men’s tennis team edged No. 41 Nebraska, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at the University of Florida’s Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
With the victory, the Hurricanes (15-8) advance to Saturday’s 3 p.m. regional final where they will face the winner of today’s match between the host Gators (18-8) and South Carolina State (13-4).
With the match tied at 3-all, Flores rallied for the 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-2 win over Nebraska’s Tom Blackwell at No. 5, clinching his fifth match of the season for the Hurricanes – including the March 13 win over then- No. 16 Georgia Tech. In addition, it marked the 20th win of his rookie campaign, as he became the third Hurricane to reach 20 wins this season and the first Miami freshman to do this in two seasons.
“Nebraska fought really hard today, and we got ourselves in a big hole by losing the doubles point and dropping the first singles match,” said seventh-year Miami head coach Mario Rincon. “But the momentum shifted when Keith [Crowley] broke early in the second set and Christian [Blöcker] started dominating with his forehand to close the match in two sets.
“Eduardo [Pavia] and Diego [Soto] were great out there fighting for every point and wearing down their opponents mentally and physically. And Gabriel came through huge for us. He had already clinched a big match earlier this year and we all knew he could do it again.”
The Cornhuskers jumped out to the 2-0 lead, winning at No. 1 and 2 doubles to earn the first point and then racing to the 6-0, 6-1 straight-sets victory at No. 3 to extend their advantage.
But the Hurricanes continued to battle and Christian Blöcker used the 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2 to get Miami on the scoreboard. Eduardo Pavia knotted the score at 4-all with the 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 victory at No. 4 to pick up his team-high 22nd victory of the season and his sixth win over his last nine matches.
Miami newcomer Diego Soto earned his second collegiate win, using the 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) victory at No. 6 to give the Canes their first lead of the afternoon, 3-2.
But Nebraska – in search of its first postseason win in its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance – didn’t give up. No. 70 Christian Aumueller battled for the victory at No. 1 to tie the match once again, 3-3.
And once again Flores had the outcome of a match on his shoulders.
And once again he succeeded.
“All of us coaches are very proud of our team’s fight and effort today,” said Rincon. “We look forward to competing our best against tomorrow’s opponent.”
The winner of Saturday’s regional final advances to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship in Palo Alto, Calif., to be held from May 19-22.
#27 Miami 4, #41 Nebraska 3
Singles
1. #70 Christian Aumueller (NEB) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
2. Christian Blöcker (UM) def. Calin Paar (NEB) 6-3, 6-4
3. Benedikt Lindheim (NEB) def. Waylon Chin (UM) 6-0, 6-1
4. Eduardo Pavia (UM) def. Andre Stenger (NEB) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
5. Gabriel Flores (UM) def. Tom Blackwell (NEB) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-2
6. Diego Soto (UM) def. Sebastian Florcyzk (NEB) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 6, 1, 5*
Doubles
1. #65 Christian Aumueller/Andre Stenger (NEB) def. Omar Aly/Keith Crowley (UM) 8-6
2. Benedikt Lindheim/Calin Paar (NEB) def. Christian Blocker/Waylon Chin (UM) 8-5
3. Pedro Ast/Eduardo Pavia (UM) vs. Taylor Boney/Robbie Schulze (NEB) 6-7, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1*
