Miami Comes up Short Against No. 15 NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. – Facing its third top-15 opponent in four matches, the University of Miami men’s tennis team fell 4-1 at No. 15 NC State Saturday afternoon.

Facing a pair of top-25 doubles tandems, the Hurricanes nearly pulled off the upsets on court 1 and 2.

On court 1, No. 22 Franco Aubone and Benjamin Hannestad dropped a back-and-forth match against ninth-ranked Tadas Babelis and Yannai Barkai, 4-6.

Meanwhile, on court 3, Bojan Jankulovski and Stephen Madonia were unable to hold on against Collin Shick and Robin Catry, as NC State claimed the doubles point, 6-2.

In the remaining match, Adria Soriano Barrera and Oren Vasser were in a dog fight with No. 23 Alexis Galarneau and Robert Turzak, with it all tied at 4-4 before the point was clinched.

In singles, Hannestad quickly evened the match with a dominating performance on court 4. The senior took down Robin Cantry, 6-1, 6-2.

However, the Hurricanes were unable to hang on as the Wolfpack jumped back in front, 3-1, with wins on courts 5 and 6.

First, Martin Rocens took down Vasser, 6-3, 6-3, prior to Turzak defeating Aubone, 6-4, 6-2.

Looking to keep the match alive, Stefan Milicevic forced a 16-point second-set tiebreaker against Rafa Izquierdo Luque, but was unable to hang on. The Wolfpack clinched the 4-1 team victory, 6-1, 7-6, (9-7).

The final two singles matches remained unfinished, with No. 34 Soriano Barrera trailing seventh-ranked Galarneau, 5-7, 6-4, 3-5, and Jankulovski leading against No. 95 Babelis, 7-6, 6-6.

Miami (3-7, 2-4 ACC) will return to the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on March 20 against No. 34 South Florida.