Miami Comes Up Short Against No. 17 Duke
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis fell 4-1 to No. 17 Duke in its first ACC home match on Friday evening.
Despite a shutout ranked win in doubles from Miami’s Martin Katz and Antonio Prat over Duke’s No. 21 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang, 6-0, on court two, the Blue Devils went on to take the doubles point, ultimately leading to a Duke win.
Due to Miami (9-6, 1-3 ACC) having five eligible players, Duke (12-7, 4-2 ACC) automatically secured the opening point on court one after a 6-4 win from No. 29 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas against No. 46 Vladislav Melnic and Adrien Burdet.
The Hurricanes struggled to get it started in singles. Duke went up 3-0 after Melnic fell 6-1, 6-2 on court two to No. 66 Rodenas. Although Miami had a long way to go to pull out the win, Sam Baumgartner gained some momentum for the team by putting up a 6-3, 6-0 win against Alexander Visser on court five. The remaining courts had dropped their first sets, but Miami rallied to force a third set on courts one and four and a tiebreaker on court three.
Katz continued to fight on court two, but ultimately fell 6-3, 7-6 (5) to Zhang to give Duke the win. When play was halted, Prat was down 2-6, 6-4, 0-4 to No. 47 Johns at the top court, while Burdet was down 3-6, 7-5, 2-4 to Connor Krug on court four.
Miami is back on the court on Sunday, March 17 when they host No. 27 North Carolina at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
RESULTS
Doubles Competition
1. #29 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #46 Vladislav Melnic/Adrien Burdet (UM), 6-4
2. Martin Katz/Antonio Prat (UM) def. #21 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU), 6-0
3. Teddy Truwit/Faris Khan (DU) def. N/A (UM), by forfeit
Singles Competition
1. Antonio Prat (UM) vs. #47 Garrett Johns (DU), 2-6, 6-4, 0-4, unfinished
2.#66 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Vladislav Melnic (UM), 6-1, 6-2
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Martin Katz (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
4. Adrien Burdet (UM) vs. Connor Krug (DU), 3-6, 7-5, 2-4, unfinished
5. Sam Baumgartner (UM) def. Alexander Visser (DU), 6-3, 6-0
6. Jake Krug (DU) def. N/A (UM), by forfeit
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (6, 2, 5, 3)
