Men's Tennis Downs Troy, 6-1
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team, picks up its second victory of the season in dominating fashion, 6-1, against Troy University Saturday at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
“The doubles point obviously was a catalyst for the match,” head coach Aljosa Piric said. “At No. 1 and 2 we got quick wins, which earned us the doubles point. I really liked the energy that our No. 1 and 2 teams brought today. Obviously, when you put the first point up on the board, it gives you a little bit of confidence and momentum going into singles.”
The Hurricanes (2-1) opened up the match with a pair of doubles victories, to take the one point advantage over the Trojans (2-5). Seniors Max Andrews and Jesse Flores took down Jaiqi Duan and Filip Mansson, 6-1. Moments later, juniors Nile Clark and Piotr Lomacki clinched the point, 6-2, defeating Andy Lau and Hassan Ndayishimiye.
At. No. 3 junior Christian Langmo and sophomore Dane Dunlap, were trailing, 3-4, against Mustapha Belcora and Pablo Moreno, as the match was declared unfinished.
The Hurricanes continued to hold the advantage in singles play, with four of six competitors – Lomacki, Flores, Andrews and junior Kevin Bondar – taking opening set victories in their respected matches.
“In singles, I thought for the most part we started off strong. We had a couple spots, where it took us a little while to work our way in,” Piric said. “I liked the fire we brought, and we definitely played critical points better than the last match. That is something we are working on that we are going to continue working on, going forward. Tennis matches are really all about a few points, and today we got them.
At No. 1, No. 86 Lomacki earned his second dual match victory of the spring season, downing Lau, 6-3, 6-4.
At No. 6, Bondar placed the Canes at match point, 3-0, after defeating Christopher Tasker, 7-5, 6-4.
Needing only one more victory UM looked to court No. 4, as Andrews was in a heated battle with Belcora. Trailing 3-5 in the opening set, Belcora earned the next three games to pull ahead 6-5. Andrews earned the next point to force a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, Belcora won the first three games, but Andrews would even it back up at three a piece. Belcora then made it match point, 5-3, before the senior once again evened it all up.
The native of England would then win a point off a drop shot, following an impressive rally by both competitors.
With set point on the line, Andrews reeled in Belcora towards the front of the net, before lobbing a shot to the back right corner, for the point.
Following the opening set victory, Andrews never looked back winning the match, 7-6 (5), 6-1, to give the Canes the match clinching 4-0 lead.
After falling in the opening set to Ndayishimiye, 1-6, Langmo battled back to take the final two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
At No. 3, Flores gave Miami a 6-0 lead after he took down Moreno, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5). At No. 5, Dunlap dropped his match to Amer Bedwan, 3-6, 6-4, 1-6.
Miami will return to the Neil Schiff Center next weekend for two home matches. Beginning Friday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m., the Hurricanes will host No. 16 Mississippi State, before facing FAU on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.
“With Florida Atlantic and Mississippi State next weekend, we are going to take the preparation one day at a time. We are not going to change many things,” Piric said. “Our preparation is not going to change because a team is ranked. We are going to prepare for it, we are going to embrace the pressure, we are going to compete and we will see what happens.”
To keep up to date with the men’s tennis team, follow the squad on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @CanesMensTennis.
Miami 6, Troy 1
Singles Competition
1. No. 86 Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. Andy Lau (TROY) 6-3, 6-4
2. Christian Langmo (UM) def. Hassan Ndayishimiye (TROY) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Jesse Flores (UM) def. Pablo Moreno (TROY) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Max Andrews (UM) def. Mustapha Belcora (TROY) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Amer Bedwan (TROY) def. Dane Dunlap (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
6. Kevin Bondar (UM) def. Christopher Tasker (TROY) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Max Andrews/Jesse Flores (UM) def. Jaiqi Duan/Filip Mansson (TROY) 6-1
2. Nile Clark/Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. Andy Lau/Hassan Ndayishimiye (TROY) 6-2
3. Dane Dunlap/Christian Langmo (UM) vs. Mustapha Belcora/Pablo Moreno (TROY) 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,4,2,3,5)
