The University of Miami men’s tennis team has had an up-and-down season. The team finished the regular season with a 2-10 conference play record and a 1-6 record on the road. However, despite this, hopes were still high as the team headed into the ACC Championships.
The team opened the tournament as the 12th seed and opened with a matchup against 13th-seeded Boston College, which they defeated by a score of 6-1 earlier in the season. The result would be the same, as the team completed a 4-0 shutout of the Eagles. Martin Katz and Antonio Prat dominated their doubles matchup to a 6-2 victory, while Yannik Rahman and Nacho Serra Sanchez completed a 6-3 victory on court three. Katz and Prat would open singles play with dominant wins, and Adrian Burdet would secure the victory for Miami, sending the Hurricanes on to the second round.
However, Miami’s opponent in the second round was 5th-seeded North Carolina, the 28th-ranked team nationally, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Though fans hoped Miami could make a deep run into the competition, their ACC championship dreams would promptly end at the hands of the Tar Heels.
This time, Miami would be on the wrong side with a 4-0 final score. Both teams would open doubles and play strong, as the score was tied two-all. But then, North Carolina began to pull away. Burdet and Vladislav Melnic were defeated at the top court, and then Serra Sanchez and Rahman were defeated by North Carolina’s Karl Poling and Will Peters.
The Tar Heels had taken the opening point and continued to pressure the ‘Canes in singles play. Junior Alejandro Arraya fell 6-0, 6-1 against Anuj Watane on court six, and Burdet and Melnic were both defeated within seconds of each other.
Miami’s run in the ACC Championship is over, and now all the Hurricanes can do is wait for their postseason fate. The NCAA Selection Show on April 29 will determine seeding for the NCAA Division One Men’s Tennis Championship.