No. 43 Men's Tennis Concludes Virginia Trip Against the Hokies
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team will seek its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference victory Sunday, when it takes on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
LIVE STATS
The links to both the live stats and video from the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center can be found HERE. First serve is slated for noon.
THE SERIES
After last season’s meeting in Coral Gables was rained out, Miami and Virginia Tech will meet for the first time since the 2016 ACC Championships, in which the Hokies recorded sixth straight victory in the series to take a 12-8 lead all-time. The Canes’ last victory dates back to March 27, 2011, when they earned a dominant 6-1 win at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Their last victory in Blacksburg came five years earlier, when then-No. 14 Miami bested the then-No. 54 Hokies by the same margin.
HIGHLIGHTING MIAMI’S 2018 SEASON
-On Friday, Miami edged three-time-defending champion Virginia, 4-3, for its third straight ACC win and fourth overall. All conference victories in that span have come against top-45 opponents.
-This week, the Hurricanes are ranked No. 43 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, the team’s highest ranking since March 23, 2014.
-For the first time this season, Miami has two players ranked in singles. Freshman Adria Soriano debuts in the rankings at No. 68 – the most by a Miami player this season – while senior Christian Langmo checks in at No. 107. Langmo has been ranked in each of the last three editions of the rankings.
-Soriano and Langmo ascended 24 spots in the doubles rankings – most by a top-50 duo – to begin the week as the No. 26 nationally-ranked tandem. Langmo and Soriano have bested a top-55 opponent for each of their victories this spring.
-Miami freshmen have captured 34 singles wins this spring. Freshman Bojan Jankulovski, who was ranked No. 101 on Feb. 4, leads the team this spring, bolstering a team 15-4 singles record. He has a team-best 6-1 singles record in ACC play.
-Miami’s 6-2 start to the season was the Hurricanes’ best start since 2013.
-The Hurricanes, who are 10-1 at home, posted a seven-match win streak in Coral Gables for the first time since 2014, when the Hurricanes won nine straight between Feb. 22 and March 25.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hurricanes earned a major morale-boosting victory Friday, taking down three-time defending national champion Virginia in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers had not lost a home ACC match since April 7, 2006, when it was again Miami that came away with a win at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Freshman Tatsuki Shimamoto clinched the 4-3 victory with the sixth singles win of his career, fighting back to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 triumph at the No. 6 position.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Hokies (13-6, 4-5 ACC) go into the match with some momentum on their own after upsetting No. 12 Florida State 4-3 Friday in a match that was decided at the very top of the lineup. The victory extended Virginia Tech’s win streak to three matches as the Hokies entered their five-match homestand to close out the regular season.
Virginia Tech is 9-2 at home this season, with their only defeats coming to top-ranked Wake Forest and then-No. 16 NC State in the same weekend.
Mitch Harper, who scored the point that handed the Seminoles their first ACC defeat of the season, is Virginia Tech’s only ranked player, checking in at No. 39 in singles.
UP NEXT
The following week, Miami will close out its road schedule with contests against No. 30 Notre Dame Friday afternoon and Boston College on Sunday.
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