Canes Open Fall Season at State of Florida Tennis Championships
Sept. 22, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team opens its fall schedule this weekend at The State of Florida Tennis Championships hosted by the University of South Florida. The event runs from Fri., Sept. 23, through Sun., Sept. 25 in Tampa.
The Hurricanes, who finished the 2010-11 season ranked No. 27 in the nation with a 15-9 record, are part of an 8-team field that includes four schools that finished among the nation’s top 50 one year ago. Two teams – Miami and Florida, ranked No. 9 last season – reached the NCAA’s Division I Championship tournament, where Florida ended the Hurricanes’ season in the round of 32. USF and Florida State ended last season ranked No. 46 and No. 47, respectively.
Under the guidance of eighth-year head coach Mario Rincon, the Hurricanes are full of young talent, including four sophomores and one freshman. The 2011-12 team will be looking to gain experience quickly following the graduation of key veterans, Christian Blöcker and Keith Crowley.
“Last year we finished third in the ACC,” said Rincon. “This year we have talented players and we work hard. We want to compete for a conference championship again.”
Sophomore Gabriel Flores is coming off a productive freshman season in which he was among three Canes with 20-or-more singles wins. His record of 20-14 was the first 20-win season by a Miami rookie since Ignacio Taboada in 2009. He also posted a 14-7 mark in doubles play, including a 7-4 mark versus ACC opponents.
“Flores ended last year playing as good as anyone,” continued Rincon. “I’m really excited to see what he can do this year.”
Santiago Nieto, the lone senior on the team, enters his third season with Miami having won seven of his last nine and four of his last five singles matches. He also had a team-best 8-4 record in singles during the fall season last year.
Omar Aly projects to be one of the top players in his sophomore season with the Hurricanes. He posted a record of 6-6 during tournament play and a 6-10 record in doubles during his first season of collegiate tennis.
Other teams in attendance will be UCF, FAU, Florida Gulf Coast and UNF.
