Men's Tennis Drops Rivalry Match to No. 16 FSU, 4-0
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team fell to its in-state rival, No. 16 Florida State, 4-0 Friday night at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
Freshman Adria Soriano won the opening set against No. 16 Guy Iradukunda through a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-3), in a match that never finished, but not much went the Hurricanes’ (6-5, 0-3 ACC) way on the night. Iradukunda led in set two, 4-3, when play was halted in front of 412 fans.
Florida State, who fielded three nationally-ranked tandems in doubles play, took the lead after dominating the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. First, No. 19 Lucas Poullain and Jose Gracia handed freshmen Soriano and Bojan Jankulovski a 6-2 defeat before No. 44 Terrell Whitehurst and Terrance Whitehurst notched a victory of the same margin against senior Nile Clark and freshman Pablo Aycart to clinch the doubles point.
Miami’s winningest duo of senior Christian Langmo and redshirt sophomore Dane Dunlap was within a game of No. 74 Iradukunda and Aziz Dougaz, trailing 4-3 when play was halted.
In the first singles match to go in the books, Gracia doubled the Noles’ lead after a dominant 6-0, 6-0 display against Dunlap at the No. 4 position.
No. 56 Poullain then picked up his 11th victory of the spring at No. 3, upending Jankulovski, 6-3, 6-2, to snap the freshman’s seven-match win streak.
Fellow rookie Tatsuki Shimamoto made his Atlantic Coast Conference debut after sitting last week’s matches. The Nagoya, Japan native was within one game against Knaff in the second set, but could not prevent Florida State’s No. 5 from claiming the victory for the Seminoles, 6-2, 6-4. Shimamoto fell to 3-5 in 2018.
In the ranked matchup at the top of the lineup, No. 99 Langmo and No. 87 Dougaz were tied at 4-4 in set two after Dougaz had won the opening set, 6-4.
At No. 6, Chase Wood led against senior Niclas Genovese, 7-5, 3-2.
The Canes return to action on Sunday, taking on William and Mary (11 a.m.) and Cleveland State (4 p.m.) in a non-conference doubleheader at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
For all of the latest news around Miami’s men’s tennis team, follow @CanesMensTennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,or go to HurricaneSports.com.
RESULTS
Doubles Competition
1. No. 74 Guy Iradukunda/Aziz Dougaz (FS) def. Christian Langmo/Dane Dunlap (UM), 4-3, unfinished
2. No. 19 Lucas Poullain/Jose Gracia (FS) def. Adria Soriano/Bojan Jankulovski (UM), 6-2
3. No. 44 Terrell Whitehurst/Terrance Whitehurst (FS) def. Pablo Aycart/Nile Clark (UM), 6-2
Singles Competition
1. No. 87 Aziz Dougaz (FSU) vs. No. 99 Christian Langmo (UM), 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
2. Adria Soriano (UM) vs. No. 16 Guy Iradukunda (FSU), 7-6 (7-3), 3-4, unfinished
3. No. 56 Lucas Poullain (FSU) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM), 6-3, 6-2
4. Jose Gracia (FSU) def. Dane Dunlap (UM), 6-0, 6-0
5. Alex Knaff (FSU) def. Tatsuki Shimamoto (UM), 6-2, 6-4
6. Chase Wood (FSU) vs. Niclas Genovese (UM), 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
