Miami Set to Take on FSU and Minnesota
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis program will take on a pair of top-40 opponents this weekend, beginning with No. 39 University of Minnesota at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Canes will then travel to Tallahassee, Fla., in their first road match of the spring season against No. 28 Florida State University.
Friday’s match is set to be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra with J. Webb Horton and Juan Arango on the call HERE.
Friday’s 10 a.m. matchup will be the ninth meeting between Miami and Minnesota. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series 7-1, with UM winning the most recent matchup over then-No. 61 Golden Gophers, 4-3, on March 19, 2013.
Miami will enter the weekend with junior Piotr Lomacki at No. 67 in the ITA singles rankings, as released March 7.
Minnesota (10-4) features No. 68 Matic Spec as its lone ranked singles player, while Spec and Felix Corwin form the 39th-ranked doubles tandem in the nation.
Sunday’s 1 p.m. matchup will mark the 66th meeting between the Hurricanes and the Seminoles. Miami boasts an all-time record of 48-17 against Florida State.
Last season, UM posted a thrilling come-from-behind victory over then-No. 47 Florida State, its first victory against the Noles since 2011. After losing the doubles point, Miami regrouped in a big way as it claimed four of the six singles matches. The highlight came when then-No. 78-ranked Lomacki posted a three-set victory over then-No. 16-ranked Benjamin Lock from Florida State, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Lomacki’s win over Lock clinched the match for the Hurricanes.
Florida State (10-4, 0-1 ACC) features two nationally ranked singles players, including No. 95 Guy Iradukunda and No. 119 Aziz Dougaz. In doubles, Dougaz and Iradukunda form the No. 69 pair in the nation, while Jose Gracia and Lucas Poullain rank No. 77.
The Canes (6-4, 0-2 ACC) went 1-1 last weekend taking down Boston University, 7-0, before falling to then-No. 17 Georgia Tech, 5-2. Against the Terriers, UM went into singles play holding the 1-point advantage after earning a pair of shutout victories in doubles play. In singles, the Hurricanes earned five straight-set victories before completing the shutout victory, following a comeback by junior Kevin Bondar against Jake De Vries. After falling in the opening set 4-6, the native of Calabasas, Calif., won a 22-point second set tiebreaker, 12-10, before claiming the match, 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 1-0 (10-2).
Next weekend the Hurricanes will travel to Louisville, Ky., in an ACC-matchup against No. 31 University of Louisville Sunday, March 26 at 12 p.m.
Entry to this weekend’s matches are free and team posters will be available at the marketing table. Live stats can be found HERE.
To keep up to date with the men’s tennis team follow the squad on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @CanesMensTennis.
