@CanesMensTennis Falls 4-3 to UCF
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 52 ranked University of Miami men’s tennis team falls to 1-1 after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the No. 70 ranked University of Central Florida at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Canes won two singles matches and two doubles matches.
“We competed with a lot of class and our guys fought really hard, it was a really good college match, and we had a lot of support from our fans, including President Shalala,” said head coach Mario Rincon.
In singles action, No. 56 ranked Piotr Lomacki faced Francesc Aulina and after a tight first set, Lomacki controlled his match winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. His teammate senior Henrique Tsukamoto found a way to win in a three-set tennis epic match against Inaki Espindola, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).
“It was a really tough [team] loss, especially since we were in the same position last year. I knew that finishing my match would help throughout this season, so I tried to focus on my match and tried to win,” said Tsukamoto on his individual victory.
Fellow senior Wilfredo Gonzalez fell in a tough three-set match against Jose Sangroniz, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. After winning his first set Bernard Tefel was unable to close out two tough sets and fell against Jesse Flores, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After going to a tough tiebreak, freshman Christian Langmo was unable to come up with the win against Chris Barrus, 7-6(5), 6-2. In similar fashion, fellow freshman Niclas Genovese also fell after pushing the match to a tiebreak against Reece Acree, 7-6(7), 6-3.
In doubles action, the Canes battled their way to two victories. The first came with Gonzalez and Langmo teaming up to face Francesc Aulina and Reece Acree, with UM winning in a tight match, 6-4. Then on Court 1, Tsukamoto and Lomacki came up with an emotional win over Chris Barrus and Inaki Espindola in a tiebreak, 7-6(4).
The freshmen duo of Nile Clark and Alexander Fahnehjelm fell to Jesse Flores and Tyler Pate, 6-2.
In an additional match, Fahnehjelm fell to Arjun Watane in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
“Our guys still have a lot to learn, we have a ton to improve, and we need to continue to get better in a hurry,” added head coach Rincon. “The guys are improving daily, we are going to put it together in a couple of matches.”
The Canes will now travel to Waco, Texas, for the ITA Kickoff Weekend and will face No. 46 Drake on Jan. 24 and will either face No. 6 Baylor or No. 62 Tulane on Jan. 25.
Stay up to date with 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.
#52 Miami 3, #70 Central Florida 4
Singles competition
1. #56 Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. Francesc Aulina (UCF), 6-4, 6-2
2. Jose Sangroniz def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Inaki Espindola (UCF), 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Chris Barrus def. Christian Langmo (UM), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Jesse Flores def. Bernard Tefel (UM), 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Reece Acree (UCF) def. Niclas Genovese (UM), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Tsukamoto/Lomacki (UM) def. Barrus/Espindola (UCF), 7-6 (7-4)
2. Gonzalez/Langmo (UM) def. Aulina/Acree (UCF), 6-4
3. Flores/Pate (UCF) def. Clark/Fahnehjelm (UM), 6-2
Additional Match:
Arjun Watane (UCF) def. Alexander Fahnehjelm (UM), 6-4, 6-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,4,6,5,3)
