MTennis Cracks Top 50 in Latest ITA Poll
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – After solid performances against stiff competition last week, the University of Miami men’s tennis team has moved up to the No. 50 spot in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll.
Also garnering attention this week is Miami’s top doubles pair of Wilfredo Gonzalez and Omar Aly. The duo made its debut into the national spotlight, earning a No. 66 ranking this week.
Miami is one of nine Atlantic Coast Conference schools currently ranked in the nation’s top 75. Three matches into their conference schedule, the Hurricanes still have challenging matches against No. 1 Virginia, No. 9 Duke, No. 38 North Carolina State and No. 54 Virginia Tech on the horizon.
The Hurricanes (12-6, 1-2 ACC) posted two victories over No. 58 Minnesota, 4-3, and Georgia State, 6-1, last week in its final two matches of a six-match home stand.
Last Sunday against the 58th-ranked Golden Gophers, Miami dropped the doubles point, but rallied back to claim four singles wins to secure the victory. Aly clinched the match for the Hurricanes, as the Edmond, Okla., native grabbed a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6, win over Jack Hamburg on Court 4. Meanwhile, Gonzalez grabbed his fifth straight singles win on Court 3, downing Mathieu Froment 7-5, 6-3.
The Hurricanes controlled the match against Georgia State from the beginning, breezing to the early doubles point and only relinquishing one singles match. Highlighting match play for the Canes was Diego Soto, who throttled his opponent on Court 2 for a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Gonzalez picked up another singles win to give him a team-leading thirteen singles wins on the dual season.
Despite a 5-2 loss to then-No. 16 Florida State on March 24, Miami saw some positives in their doubles performance the Seminoles. Miami’s top duo of Gonzalez and Aly were dominant against the Seminoles’ 22nd ranked pair of Benjamin Lock and Andres Bocura. Meanwhile, Henrique Tsukamoto and Marco Stancati battled to an 8-4 victory over Florida State’s Dominic Cotrone and Blake Davis.
The Hurricanes are back in action on Friday, March 29 when they travel to Winston Salem, N.C., for a match against conference foe No. 28 Wake Forest.
For more information on the University of Miami men’s tennis team, log on to HurricaneSports.com. To follow the UM men’s tennis team socially, visit Twitter.com/CanesMensTennis and Facebook at /MiamiHurricanesMensTennis.
