No. 65 MTen Downs Troy 5-2
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes men’s tennis team was victorious for the fifth time in its last six matches with a 5-2 win Wednesday afternoon over the Troy Trojans.
No. 65 Miami started the day with a 3-0 sweep in doubles. The duo of Omar Aly and Wilfredo Gonzalez defeated Troy’s tandem of Gabriel Dias and Pablo Moreno, 8-3. William Albanese and Danny Shebshayevich followed by defeating Mansingh Athare and Tadju Davies by the same score.
Gabriel Flores and Diego Soto completed the trifecta by topping Sami Ghorbel and Daniel Bustamante, 8-5.
The highlight performance of the afternoon belonged to Soto in singles action. Soto controlled Karen Khachatryan in straight sets and completed a shutout, 6-0, 6-0.
Coach Mario Rincon attributed Soto’s recent success simply to the fact that he is a senior with immense experience.
“Diego is appreciating every day as a senior, during practices and matches,” Rincon said. “He knows that we don’t have many matches left and he’s giving everything he has and you can see that when you watch him—with his passion, quickness and his concentration.”
The other two seniors, Aly and Flores, also had straight-set victories. Aly topped Dias for the second time on the afternoon, 6-1, 6-3, while Flores over-matched Ghorbel, fighting his way to a 6-2, 6-4, victory.
“The seniors did really well today. We won the doubles point, and thankfully we won it one-two-three,” Rincon said of his three veterans. “They’re driving this team and they’re playing really good tennis right now—we need them to continue playing solid tennis for us. It’s great to have three seniors that are experienced that want to have a really good season.”
Troy caused headaches for the Canes, especially for junior Wilfredo Gonzalez. After being sidelined by injury, Gonzalez finally returned to the court last week, but came up short to Moreno, 4-6, 6-7. Despite the loss, Rincon was pleased by the improvement he saw from the Guatemala native.
“I was happy to see Wilfredo play better at the end of the match, although he lost,” Rincon said in support of Gonzalez. “He showed signs of his level before his injury and I know from here on out he’s only going to get better.”
The only other loss on the afternoon for Miami came at the racket of Troy’s Mansingh Athare, who defeated freshman Bernard Tefel, 6-4, 6-2.
The Hurricanes return to the courts at 11 a.m. Saturday when they host Boston at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
Troy vs Miami
March 12, 2014 at Coral Gables, Fla.
(Neil Schiff Tennis Center)
Troy 2, #65 Miami 5
Singles competition
1. Omar Aly (UM) def. Gabriel Sciacca Dias (TU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Gabriel Flores (UM) def. Sami Ghorbel (TU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Diego Soto (UM) def. Karen Khachatryan (TU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Daniel Bustamante (TU) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 6-4, 7-6
5. William Albanese (UM) def. Pablo Moreno (TU) 6-4, 7-6
6. Mansingh Athare (TU) def. Bernard Tefel (UM) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Omar Aly/Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) def. Gabriel Sciacca Dias/Pablo Moreno (TU) 8-3
2. Gabriel Flores/Diego Soto (UM) def. Sami Ghorbel/Daniel Bustamante (TU) 8-5
3. William Albanese/Daniel Shebshayevich (UM) def. Mansingh Athare/Tadju Davies (TU) 8-3
Match notes
Troy University 2-10
Miami 8-4; National ranking #65
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,1,6,2,4,5)
