M. Tennis Opens ACC Play with Sweep
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team opened the ACC season in dominant fashion, collecting its seventh sweep of the season to top No. 45 Clemson, 7-0, Friday night at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.
The Hurricanes (8-2) have now opened ACC play with a victory for the second straight season, the first time Miami has accomplished this feat since doing so to start the 2008 and 2009 campaigns.
“We are proud of how the boys came together and fought as a cohesive unit tonight,” assistant coach Beck Pennington said. “We have been digging into their mental toughness and it showed tonight when we were faced with adversity. It is time to get back to work as we face a solid Georgia Tech team on Sunday. Fight Canes!”
In doubles, Clemson took the early advantage when Carlos Kelaidis and Teodor Giusca topped redshirt senior Dane Dunlap and junior Tatsuki Shimamoto, 6-4.
Moments later, No. 53 sophomore Francisco Bastias and junior Adria Soriano Barrera earned a 6-3 win over Jacob Jahn and Mike Agee, to even the playing field.
Miami then locked up the advantageous doubles point on court one when 15th-ranked sophomore Franco Aubone and junior Benjamin Hannestad captured a 6-4 triumph over Pierre-Louis Dodens and Gabriel Diaz Freire.
In singles, Miami continued to cruise when junior William Grattan-Smith doubled Miami’s lead with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jahn.
After falling behind 5-6 in the opening set, Bastias quickly turned this around by forcing a first set tiebreaker before cruising in the second set to give Miami the 3-0 lead, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1.
Then, competing on court five, Aubone clinched the ACC opener for Miami with a dominating, 6-3, 6-3, win over Dodens.
The final three remaining matches were played out, with No. 41 Soriano Barrera the first to finish, besting Freire, 7-5, 6-4.
Meanwhile, competing on court 4, Dunlap fell behind 2-5 in the second set before rallying back to seal the victory, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
In the lone match to go three sets, Hannestad topped Giusca, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-7), to secure Miami’s seventh sweep of the season.
Up next, the Hurricanes will travel to Atlanta, to take on Georgia Tech Sunday at noon.
