Harrington Downs 3-Seed at USTA Clay Court
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Miami freshman Andrew Harrington defeated the third-seeded No. 71 Zack McCourt of Princeton to highlight the Canes’ first day at the USTA Clay Court Invitational presented by Visit Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.
The team completed a successful day with six singles victories and two doubles victories.
Harrington, a native of Severna Park, Md., highlighted the day for the Canes with two singles victories. His first match was in the singles qualifying draw against Tyler Pate from UCF. Harrington lost the first set, but came back to close out with two tough sets, winning the match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. In his second match, Harrington faced No. 3 seed Zack McCourt from Princeton, who is also ranked No. 71 nationally. Harrington was pushed to the limit, but came out on top, winning in two highly competitive sets, 7-6(4), 6-4. He will now play Jose Gracia from host Florida State at 8 a.m.
Also in the qualifying draw, making his collegiate debut was Kevin Bondar, a native of Calabasas, Calif., who fell in straight sets against Graham Ball from Stetson, 6-1, 6-4.
Fellow freshmen Nile Clark and Christian Langmo competed in the main draw and came out on top in Thursday’s first round action. Clark was put to the test in both sets of his match but defeated Manuel Belda from South Alabama in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. Clark will next play Nick Crystal from USC, play will begin at 9:30 a.m. Langmo dominated his match, also winning in straight sets, against Nathan Debut from Stetson, 6-2, 6-1. He will now face the No. 9-16 seed Marko Krikovic from Auburn at 8 a.m.
No. 9-16 seed senior Henrique Tsukamoto was another Cane to whip through today’s competition, winning in straight sets against Tanner Smith from USC, 6-3, 6-3. He will now face Jose Sangroniz from UCF, play will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday. Lone sophomore Bernard Tefel gave the Canes another victory in the first round, defeating Richard Pham from Columbia, 7-5, 6-3. He will now play No. 9-16 seed and ranked No. 47 nationally, Max de Vroome from USC at 9:30 a.m.
Senior Wilfredo Gonzalez was unable to close out his first set victory and fell against rival Chase Perez-Blanco from Florida, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles action, Clark and Tsukamoto began the day with a victory against Laurynas Antropikas and Simon Julin, 8-6. Shortly thereafter they had to play again but ultimately came up short in the doubles main draw against the top-seeded duo of Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura from Georgia Tech, 8-6.
Also in doubles play, Tefel and Harrington teamed up to defeat the No. 3 seeded duo of Maxime Hinnisdaels and Marko Krikovic from Auburn, 8-5. Tefel and Harrington will now face Zack McCourt and Thomas Coulatti from Princeton at 6 p.m.
Later in doubles action, the duo of Gonzalez and Langmo fell to the team of Petar Tomic and Joseph Van Dooren from Auburn, 8-6.
The USTA Clay Court Invitational is the largest clay court event in college tennis, featuring many of the country’s top college teams and players – will be delivered live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app this week. The Invitational is being delivered by ESPN3 for the second consecutive year, and will be accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox, Apple TV and Roku devices.
Stay up to date with the Canes this weekend at @2014_CCI and follow the #LoveFL on Twittter. Always follow the Canes on HurricaneSports.com. To interact with the UM men’s tennis team socially, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter and like the team on Facebook.com/CanesMensTennis.
Results
Thursday
Qualifying Singles
Andrew Harrington (UM) def. Tyler Pate (UCF), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Graham Ball (SU) def. Kevin Bondar (UM), 6-1, 6-4
Main Draw Singles
Andrew Harrington (UM) def. #71 [3] Zack McCourt (PU), 7-6(4), 6-4
[9-16] Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Tanner Smith (USC), 6-3, 6-3
Christian Langmo (UM) def. Nathan Debut (SU), 6-2, 6-1
Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Nile Clark (UM) def. Manuel Belda (S. Ala.), 7-5, 6-4
Bernard Tefel (UM) def. Richard Pham (CU), 7-5, 6-3
Qualifying Doubles
Clark/Tsukamoto (UM) def. Antropikas/Julin (SU), 8-6
Main Draw Doubles
Tefel/Harrington (UM) def. [3] Hinnisdaels/Krikovic (AU), 8-5
Tomic/Van Dooren (AU) def. Gonzalez/Langmo (UM), 8-6
Segura/Benito (Ga. Tech) def. Clark/Tsukamoto (UM), 8-6
Schedule of Play
Friday
Main Draw Singles
8 a.m. No. 9-16 Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) vs. Jose Sangroniz (UCF)
8 a.m. Andrew Harrington (UM) vs. Jose Gracia (FSU)
8 a.m. Christian Langmo (UM) vs. Marko Krikovic (AU)
9:30 a.m. Nile Clark (UM) vs. Nick Crystal (USC)
9:30 a.m. Bernard Tefel (UM) vs. #47 [9-16] Max de Vroome (USC)
Qualifying Doubles
8 a.m. Clark/Tsukamoto (UM) vs. Antropikas/Julin (SU)
Main Draw Doubles
6 p.m. Tefel/Harrington (UM) vs. McCourt/Colautti (PU)
