ITA Ranks Miami Hurricanes No. 31 in January Poll
Jan. 9, 2012
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team will enter the 2012 spring season ranked No. 31 in the nation, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
The Hurricanes, who ended their 2010-11 season with an appearance in the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament, entered last season ranked No. 44 and finished the year with a team record of 15-9. In the final poll of the 2010-11 season, Miami earned a No. 27 ranking.
The Hurricanes are led by a group of young and talented sophomores, including Gabriel Flores. The Guaynabo, Puerto Rico native, who finished the fall season with a 4-3 record in singles, will look to continue his success in the spring as he projects to play in the No.1 position for the Canes.
Omar Aly and Diego Soto, also sophomores, are projected for the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. They enter the spring following solid fall seasons in which Aly, a native of Edmond, Okla., finished the fall with a record of 5-6. Soto, originally from Madrid, Spain, recorded the best fall record for the Canes with a mark of 7-3.
Junior Victor Mauz and senior Santiago Nieto will round out the lineup of returners for the Hurricanes in the spring season. A native of Suresnes, France, Mauz finished the fall with a record of 6-5. Santiago Nieto, from nearby Key Biscayne, Fla., enters the spring after a 3-7 record in the fall season.
During the semester break, Coach Mario Rincon added four players to the spring 2012 roster, including a pair of rookies and two juniors. Local player Mark Schanerman, from Miami, joins the team after transferring from Northwestern University. Another junior, Marco Stancati, comes to Miami from Napoli, Italy. Freshman Wilfredo Gonzalez is from Guatemala City, Guatemala, while classmate Henrique Tsukamoto is from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Hurricanes are one of six teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference nationally ranked in the top 35. The other representatives from the ACC are: Virginia (No. 2), Duke (No. 10), Georgia Tech (No. 15), North Carolina (No. 20), and Virginia Tech (No. 34).
The Hurricanes open their season at home with the Garner Mulloy Miami Invitational at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center which will be held from Jan. 12 through Jan. 14. Miami will begin against Texas Tech on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
