No. 40 Men’s Tennis Faces Florida in Second-Round Matchup Sunday
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team will face No. 10 Florida, seeded No. 13, Sunday at 1 p.m. in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Team Championship.
LIVE STATS
The Gators will host the match at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Center, with live stats and live video available HERE.
THE BRACKET
The winner of Sunday’s match between the Hurricanes (15-12, 4-8 ACC) and Florida (17-9, 9-3 SEC), will face the winner of the second-round matchup between No. 38 Mississippi and fourth-ranked and fourth-seeded Stanford in the Round of 16 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C., at 7 p.m. next Friday.
THE SERIES
Miami’s rivalry with Florida is the longest-standing in program history with 71 previous meetings between the Hurricanes and the Gators. Miami holds the edge in the all-time series, 55-16, but the Gators took the victory last time the teams met, spoiling the Canes’ 2013 season opener, 5-2, in Gainesville.
HIGHLIGHTING MIAMI’S 2018 SEASON
-Miami finished the regular season with 14 victories and four Atlantic Coast victories, both marks best since 2014.
-The Hurricanes excelled at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center into a fortress this season, winning 12 out of 14 home contests for their best home winning percentage (.857) since 2006, when they posted another 12-2 home record on their way to the NCAA Round of 16.
-Miami has been ranked in seven editions of the Oracle/ITA rankings this season, including the last six, peaking at No. 39 on April 24.
-The Canes have picked up four ranked victories so far this season, including top-25 triumphs against then-No. 23 NC State on March 23 and then-No. 22 Duke on April 20. Miami also downed then-No. 38 Louisville on April 1 and, on April 6, handed then-No. 42 Virginia its first ACC loss at home since 2006, which also came against the Hurricanes.
-For the first time in program history, Miami had three All-ACC selections in 2018: freshman Adria Soriano (second team), senior Christian Langmo (third team) and freshman Bojan Jankulovski (third team).
-Soriano and Langmo, who lead off the Hurricanes’ doubles lineup, are currently ranked No. 30 in the Oracle/ITA and earned Miami’s first bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship (May 24-28) in 10 years.
-The two are the Canes’ two ranked singles players, checking in at No. 77 and No. 125, respectively. Soriano has been ranked as high as team- and career-high No. 67 April 22, while Langmo was ranked at a season-best No. 99 March 7.
-Jankulovski, who holds a team-best 20-5 dual record in his rookie campaign, including a 9-2 record in ACC play, leads a quartet of Miami freshmen that has captured 39 singles wins this spring. Jankulovski was the third Cane who was nationally ranked in singles this eason, checking in at as high as No. 101 on Feb. 4.
-Miami’s 6-2 start to the season was the Hurricanes’ best start since 2013.
LAST TIME OUT
The Canes earned the right to play round host Florida after defeating North Florida, 4-0, Saturday for its eighth shutout win of the season. Seniors Nile Clark and Langmo, as well as Jankulovski, earned singles victories in the triumph, with the latter two also contributing a win to Miami’s doubles point in the match.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Gators found their way into the second round by cruising through South Carolina State, 4-0, for their 12th home win of the season. Florida is now a winner of four of its last five matches, three of the victories coming by sweeps. The Gators outscored opponents 22-1 on their way to picking up those wins. The only loss came to then-No. 9 Mississippi State, which handed UF a 4-2 loss in the Southeastern Conference tournament April 28.
Alfredo Perez leads a quartet of Florida players in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings, checking in at No. 14. He is joined by No. 28 Johannes Ingildsen, No. 49 Oliver Crawford and No. 109 Duarte Vale.
The Gators have five ranked doubles pairs, led off by a fifth-ranked Perez and Ingildsen duo. Andy Andrade and Chase Perez-Blanco sit in No. 24, followed No. 36 Vale and McClain Kessler, No. 42 Perez-Blanco and Crawford and No. 77 Perez and Crawford.
UP NEXT
Soriano and Langmo will extend Miami’s season at the NCAA Doubles Championship, which will start May 24 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C.
FOLLOW US
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.
