Hurricanes Set to Host No. 11 Irish
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis will return to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Friday for the third of a five-match homestand.
No. 36 Miami (11-4, 3-0 ACC) and No. 11 Notre Dame will hit the court at 1 p.m., with the affair set to be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra HERE and live stats accessible HERE.
Friday’s match will mark the 30th meeting between the Canes and Irish, with Miami holding a 17-12 edge in the series. In the most recent contest, then-No. 28 Notre Dame earned a home win over then-No. 42 Miami, 5-2, on April 13, 2018. In the affair, redshirt junior Dane Dunlap picked up a point against Guillermo Cabrera, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-6), while sophomore Bojan Jankulovski cruised past Matt Gamble, 6-1, 6-3.
This season, the Hurricanes enter the match looking to extend their current three-match winning streak, jumpstarted by a 4-0 sweep of Florida State on Sunday in Orlando. With victories over UNCW (5-1) and Boston University (5-0) on Tuesday, the Hurricanes improved to 7-0 at home this year, while holding a 19-2 ledger at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center since the start of the 2018 season.
The Canes are led by a pair of sophomores featured on the Oracle/ITA national singles list, with Adria Soriano Barrera coming it at No. 19 and Jankulovski ranked No. 71.
Under the direction of 12th-year head coach Ryan Sachire, Notre Dame (10-6, 3-0 ACC) enters the contest with back-to-back victories over Michigan State and Louisville after a five-match skid against a quintet of teams currently ranked in the ITA top-20.
Individually, the Fighting Irish have a pair of ranked singles players, with Alex Lebedev sitting at No. 17 and Richard Ciamarra at No. 63. In doubles, Ciamarra pairs up with Tristan McCormick to form the nation’s 15th-ranked tandem.
Following Friday’s match, Miami will close out a five-match homestand with a doubleheader on Sunday against Boston College (2 p.m.) and Connecticut (6 p.m.). The matchup against the Eagles will be aired on ACC Network Extra.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
