Men’s Tennis Faces No. 5 Virginia Sunday
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team welcomes fifth-ranked Virginia to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Sunday at noon for its regular season home finale.
Live stats for No. 24 Miami’s (16-6. 7-2 ACC) match against the Cavaliers will be accessible HERE.
As is the case with all home matches, entry to Sunday’s contest is free to all fans. The first 50 students will receive t-shirt from UM’s Category 5 at the marketing table, which will also have team posters.
In a series that dates back to 1946, Virginia holds an 18-5 advantage over Miami. Last season, the Hurricanes snapped a 16-match losing streak against the Cavaliers, with a 4-3 road triumph on April 6, 2018.
After dropping the doubles point, Virginia rebounded in singles to take a 3-1 lead in last year’s match. However, following a key win by sophomore Bojan Jankulovski, Christian Langmo picked up a three-set victory on court 2 to turn all eyes to court 6. In the final match to conclude, sophomore Tatsuki Shimamoto topped Jefferson Dockter, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, to secure the win over the three-time reigning national champions.
The Hurricanes head into this season’s affair on a 12-match home winning streak, their longest in 18 years, since Miami had a 20-match winning streak from Feb. 1, 2000 through Feb. 24, 2001. In addition, the Hurricanes’ 11-0 mark to open the 2019 campaign is the program’s best home start since the 2000 season, when the Canes closed out the year a perfect 15-0.
In their most recent match, the Canes topped No. 43 Virginia Tech, 4-3, at home on Friday, to pick up their seventh conference victory and have secured the program’s first winning season in league play since 2011, when Miami finished 8-3 in the ACC.
Miami is led by a pair of sophomores featured on the national singles list, with Adria Soriano Barrera coming in at No. 36 and Jankulovski ranked No. 91.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Andres Pedroso, Virginia (16-3, 7-2 ACC) enters the contest riding a four-match winning streak, most recently topping No. 31 Florida State, 4-1, Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Cavaliers have a trio of student-athletes listed on the Oracle/ITA singles rankings, with Carl Söderlund at No. 10, Brandon Nakashima at No. 63 and Ryan Goetz at No. 124. In doubles, Nakashima pairs up with Henrik Wiersholm to form the nation’s 59th-ranked tandem.
Following Sunday’s match, Miami will wrap up the regular season with a pair of road matches in the Tar Heel State, beginning with Friday’s noon match against No. 21 NC State in Raleigh, N.C. Two days later, the Hurricanes will battle the defending national champion, third-ranked Wake Forest, in Winston-Salem, N.C., Sunday at 1 p.m.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
