Hurricanes Earn Remarkable 4-3 Win Over No. 27 UNC

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team delivered the 4-3 victory over No. 27 North Carolina in underdog fashion on Sunday afternoon.

With only five eligible players taking the court, the Hurricanes walked into the match against the Tar Heels with adversity stacked against them.

Miami (10-6, 2-3 ACC) and UNC (10-5, 4-2 ACC) entered the day going five-on-five due to the lack of Miami players. The Hurricanes had to win both doubles courts to claim the opening point. The No. 46 pair of Vladislav Melnic and Adrien Burdet took down Benjamin Kittay and Phillip Jordan, 6-2. Antonio Prat and Martin Katz then secured the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court two against Peter Murphy and Patrick Schoen.

The Tar Heels tied the score at one-all after automatically earning a point because of no action happening on court six. UNC was first to grab a singles win with Schoen taking down Melnic, 7-6 (6), 6-3, on court three. Miami answered with a victory at the No. 2 court by Katz downing No. 80 Karl Poling, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Regaining the lead, UNC took court five, 6-3, 7-6 (9), over Sam Baumgartner by Anuj Watane. The remaining two courts battled into a third set, ultimately clinching the win for Miami.

Prat came back to secure the top court over No. 110 Jordan, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to tie the match up before Burdet notched the victory with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 score against No. 106 Will Peters.

The Hurricanes will return to action on March 22 when they take on Virginia at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.