Miami’s Comeback Falls Short at No. 65 Virginia Tech

Miami’s Comeback Falls Short at No. 65 Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team could not complete the comeback against the No. 65 Virginia Tech Hokies (7-5, 1-1 ACC), falling 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

The Hurricanes (6-4, 0-2 ACC) rallied from down 3-1 to tie the match at three-all thanks to a trio of singles victories, but ultimately fell just short of the Hokies.

The Hokies earned the doubles point after recording a pair of wins at first and third doubles.

Virginia Tech’s Harper Matt Harper and Frank Thompson defeated sophomore Martin Katz and freshman Antonio Prat, 6-2, on court three for the first doubles victory of the day.

The No. 4 duo of Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback sealed the doubles point with a 6-3 win over fifth-year senior Juan Martin Jalif and freshman Martin Vergara Del Puerto at first singles.

The second doubles pair of fifth-year senior Franco Aubone and graduate student Dan Martin were on the cusp of victory, 5-2, at the time of clinching.

Freshman Nacho Serra Sanchez tied the match at one-all with a 6-4, 6-2 victory on court six, but Virginia Tech’s Scott Sculley responded with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Aubone at fourth singles to put the Hokies back on top, 2-1.

No. 86 Fishback extended Virginia Tech’s lead to 3-1 when he defeated No. 28 Martin, 7-5, 6-3 at first singles.

Graduate student Leo Bierbaum turned the tides of the match on court six, recording a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback victory over Alberto Orso to pull Miami back to within one.

Prat staved off Virginia Tech’s Manuel Goncalves on court three, tying the match at three-all with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory.

With the match on the line, Katz rallied from down 3-1, winning two straight games to tie the third set at three. However, Virginia Tech’s Alvaro Ariza pulled away to ultimately win the match, 7-4, 4-6, 6-4, and clinch the victory for the Hokies.

The Hurricanes are back home on March 8 for a doubleheader at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. First serve against South Alabama and College of Charleston will happen at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.