Mauz Clinches No. 54 Miami's First ACC Win of 2012

March 25, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -In their biggest comeback match of the season, the University of Miami Hurricanes took down the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 4-3 on Sunday, March 25 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

The highlight of the day came down to the singles play between Victor Mauz and Alex Tsai in the No. 6 position. The team score for the match was 3-3, and it was up to Mauz to seal the win for his team. In the biggest comeback of his career, Mauz took down Tsai 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1) after trailing his opponent 4-0, 40-love with Tsai serving in the third set.

“Many times the final team match comes down to your own final match, but never when you are in a hole. This is probably the biggest comeback that you’ll have in a college season. I’m so proud of him, and I’m proud of the rest of our guys, too,” said Assistant Coach Mark Dickson.

This win marks the Canes’ first ACC win of the season.

After losing to Wake Forest 4-3 earlier in the season, the Canes knew this would be a tough competition. “We had played a close, close match that went right to the end. We had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t close it out. This time it was totally the opposite,” commented Head Coach Mario Rincon. “We needed this win here at home.”

The Canes surrendered the doubles point at the beginning of the match. The duo of Mark Schanerman and Marco Stancati defeated Sam Wells and Conner Sherwood in the No. 3 spot, 8-5, however, the Demon Deacons stole the wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Omar Aly and Wilfredo Gonzalez fell to David Hopkins and Amogh Prabhakar 8-6, and Gabriel Flores and Diego Soto lost to Danny Kreyman and Adam Lee 8-4.

The Canes fought back in singles play to make up for the lost point. “I didn’t have to say much to motivate the team. We have kids that are just competitors, and we wanted to win this match badly, just like any other ACC match. They saw an opportunity and a space to get back in the match, and they made the most of it,” added Coach Rincon.

In the No. 1 position, Gabriel Flores fell to David Hopkins 7-6 (5), 6-1. However, Flores’s match encouraged his teammates. “Gabriel was behind on the first set but was able to get into the tiebreaker, which gave us a boost. He’s a terrific team captain. He works hard at being a captain both on and off the court, which is the sign of a great leader,” said Assistant Coach Mark Dickson.

Omar Aly defeated Danny Kreyman in the No. 2 position 6-4, 6-3. “Omar played an opponent who had beaten him last time and was very difficult for anyone to play. He adapted his game to it, and today he did everything that we’ve been working with him on in practice,” commented Coach Dickson.

After coming off of a win against his opponent at the NC State match on Friday, Wilfredo Gonzalez continued to play hard but fell to this week’s opponent, Amogh Prabhakar, 6-4, 6-4.

Henrique Tsukamoto dominated Adam Lee 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 4 position. “I thought that Henrique did a terrific job of playing within himself. He played so solid and aggressive and never gave anything away to his opponent. It’s a big thing we’ve been working on with him, and he did it,” added Coach Dickson.

Diego Soto, who earned the first point of the day for the Canes, defeated Conner Sherwood 6-2, 6-1. “Diego dictated the play with his serve. He sent his opponent a message that he was going to put one more ball back in play, and it was going to go all afternoon if that’s what it took. He broke his opponent down mentally, emotionally, and finally physically,” concluded Coach Dickson.

The team next travels to Longmeadow, Mass., to play another ACC team, Boston College, at the Grande Meadows Athletic Club on April 1. 

Complete Results

Wake Forest vs Miami
Mar 25, 2012
Neil Schiff Tennis Center

Singles Results 

1. David Hopkins (WF) def. Gabriel Flores (UM) 7-6 (5), 6-1
2. Omar Aly (UM) def. Danny Kreyman (WF) 6-4, 6-3
3. Amogh Prabhakar (WF) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Adam Lee (WF) 6-1, 6-4
5. Diego Soto (UM) def. Conner Sherwood (WF) 6-2, 6-1
6. Victor Mauz (UM) def. Alex Tsai (WF) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1)

Doubles Results

1. David Hopkins/Amogh Prabhakar (WF) def. Omar Aly/Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 8-6
2. Danny Kreyman/Adam Lee (WF) def. Gabriel Flores/Diego Soto (UM) 8-4
3. Mark Schanerman/Marco Stancati (UM) def. Sam Wells/Conner Sherwood (WF) 8-5

Match Notes

Wake Forest 9-8
Miami 8-6, National ranking #54
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,1,3,4,6)