Canes surrender seven unanswered, drop series finale to NC State 12-7

Lazaro Chavez
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Canes surrender seven unanswered, drop series finale to NC State 12-7

On Saturday afternoon at Dail Park in Raleigh, N.C., the Miami Hurricanes baseball team were sent packing by the NC State Wolfpack in the rubber match game 12-7.

The Canes entered the bottom of the seventh up 7-5, needing nine outs to close out their seventh-straight series victory. But the Wolfpack offense came alive, flipping the game on its head.

To open the frame, infielder Luke Nixon smacked his second home run of the game over the wall in right field off Miami starter AJ Ciscar.

Four batters later, Sherman Johnson lined an RBI double off Packy Bradley-Cooney, tying the score at seven. The next batter, Christian Serrano, gave the Wolfpack its first lead since the second inning with an RBI single up the middle.

With the score at 8-7 entering the eighth, the Wolfpack put the game on ice.

NC State loaded the bases on a single and two walks, putting the dangerous Johnson up to the plate.

Facing TJ Coats, Johnson drilled a grand slam into the night in left field, giving NC State a five-run lead and putting the game out of reach. Johnson finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBIs and seven total bases.

While 19 runs were scored in Saturday’s rubber match, the offense wouldn’t pick up until the bottom of the second.

Following a single and an error by Gabriel Milano, NC State catcher Drew Lanphere bunted in an attempt to move the runners over. The squeeze went to Milano, who threw it away and allowed Wyatt Peifer to score from second. The next batter, Brayden Fraasman, brought Serrano in on an RBI groundout, giving the Wolfpack and early 2-0 lead.

David Lebowitz, Photo Editor/ Junior Catcher Alex Sosa sprints toward third base on April 12, 2026.

Miami’s bats got hot in the fourth, with five runners reaching home on six hits. Max Galvin got the ball rolling with a base hit, followed by a single from Derek Williams. The Wolfpack then walked Alex Sosa which got the bases loaded. Brylan West came to the plate and smoked a two-run single up the middle to tie the game at two.

Alonzo Alvarez, looking to move the runners over, reached on a throwing error from Peifer. Peifer’s error allowed Sosa to score from second, giving the Canes a 3-2 lead.

The offense continued to roll in the fourth, with Milano and Fabio Peralta bringing home an RBI a piece on singles, bringing the score to 5-2.

NC State came into the fifth with a vengeance, cutting into the lead and tying things up starting with a single from Andrew Wiggins followed by a base hit from Rett Johnson. Nixon then delivered a game-tying three-run homer over the wall in right field. Nixon’s first home run tied the score at five.

Miami’s bat came back in the sixth, scoring two runs with an extra-base hit from Galvin. After several singles and a hit by pitch and runners on both corners, Galvin came back to the plate ready to strike. He lined a double down the left field line to bring home Peralta and Ogden, allowing UM to retake the lead at 7-5.

Hits and runs from Nixon and Johnson led to the game being tied and a RBI double lead to Ty Head scoring giving NC State the lead. Johnson then returned with a no-doubter grand slam to close the game out 12-7. The Canes did not go down without a fight. They got the bases loaded with no outs before the relief pitcher closed the game out with two strikeouts and a ground out.

The Hurricanes return to Mark Light Field for a matchup against the FIU Panthers on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m and the Canes will then close out their regular home season in a three game conference series against Louisville starting Thursday at 7 p.m. 

Phot Credit: Ava Stroshane // Senior infielder Jake Ogden swings at a pitch against Lafayette on Feb. 21, 2026 at Mark Light Field.

Hurricanes women’s tennis season ends in NCAA second round to Auburn

Zach Cohen
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Hurricanes women’s tennis season ends in NCAA second round to Auburn

The Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team saw its best season since 2023-24 come to an end Friday with a second-round loss to the Auburn Tigers in the NCAA Team Championships at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

In the first round of the Auburn Regional, the Hurricanes faced off against the North Florida Ospreys, winning 4-0.

Against the Ospreys, Miami scored the opening point as Sebastianna Sclipoti and Sofia Rocchetti took down Aryana Barlett and Anslee long, 6-2, on court two.

Miami was sent to the second round when No. 38 Gonzalez clinched it over Barandse, 6-3, 6-4, at the top court.

Going into the Round of 32, Miami faced the tall task of playing No. 1 ranked and second seeded Auburn.

Auburn got off to a hot start in doubles early on court three. Ashton Bowers and Ekaterina Khairutdinova beat Jaquelyn Ogunwale and Maria Vargas 6-1. 

At the top court, Tigers No. 2 ranked pair of DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito defeated Raquel Gonzalez and Dominika Podhajecka 6-1.

In singles, Auburn tallied three-straight court victories in singles to advance. 

No. 115 Podhajecka fell 6-2, 6-2 to No. 58 Bowers on court five while Scilipoti lost 6-3, 6-2 against No. 55 Angell Okutoyi on court three. On court two, No. 67 Rocchetti fell, 6-3, 6-4 to No. 31 Khairutdinova.

Miami finishes the season with the program’s 39th NCAA Championships appearance, one All-ACC honoree and a top-10 win.

The Miami women’s tennis team gathers in a huddle before beginning singles matches against Boston College at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 29, 2024. Photo credit: Alexandra Fisher

Senior Farewell

Samantha Rodriguez
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Senior Farewell

The Miami Hurricane has taught me more about life than any class. I constantly met new writers and editors who inspired me to push myself. Reach out for more impossible interviews, do more to highlight amazing students at the University and find more ways to be kind. Every person who told me “Hello,” held the door open for me or nodded at me those Monday afternoons during practicum gave me the courage to chase stories. You are all a part of my success.

I encourage every journalist to write the stories your mom doesn’t want you to. Take risks while you have the support of your peers. If you fail, that just makes your life more interesting. Being safe — in life and in journalism — is very boring. Email that celebrity’s publicist and reach out to the people that you know only you have the skills to write a story about. 

I have failed many times and will continue to do so. (Remember when I spelled a person’s name wrong throughout an entire article?) But failing while being brave enough to put your heart out to the world is falling forward. 

Your articles can inspire others, or you can write a review of Joe’s Stone Crab. The easiest way to do the first part is live a life you’d write an article about. And the easiest way to do that is by doing whatever you want — or, in other, less interesting words, following your heart.

That’s what put me on the cover of this newspaper. Who knows where it’ll take you. 

What I would tell my freshman-year self

Balaj Raza
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What I would tell my freshman-year self

If I could sit down with my freshman-year self, I would probably start by telling him to breathe.

You do not know it yet, but the next four years will challenge you, humble you and shape you in ways you cannot imagine. Right now, you are walking onto campus with big dreams, quiet fears and the pressure of wanting to prove yourself. You think success has to happen immediately, and that every missed opportunity means you are falling behind.

I would tell myself that rejection is not the end of the story. There will be moments when doors close, when people overlook you and when opportunities that you want go to someone else. Those moments will sting. You will question yourself more than once. But what you cannot see yet is that those disappointments will build your resilience and lead you to places you never expected.

I would tell him to trust his voice.

There will be times when you wonder if your ideas matter or if anyone is listening. Keep writing anyway. Keep speaking anyway. Keep creating anyway. Some of the things you make will connect with people in ways you never imagined. The stories you tell and the risks you take will open doors, introduce you to incredible people and remind you that your perspective has value.

I would tell him to appreciate the people who believe in you.

There will be professors, mentors, supervisors and friends who see something in you before you fully see it in yourself. Listen to them. Thank them. Stay close to people who encourage your growth. Their support will carry you through some of the hardest moments.

I would also remind him to be kinder to himself.

You are going to work hard. You are going to care deeply. You are going to want everything to happen now. But life rarely works on your timeline. Some blessings arrive later because you need time to grow into them. What feels delayed is often preparation.

And, I would tell him to enjoy Miami more.

One day, the campus that feels so ordinary will become a place you miss deeply. The walks to class, the late nights with friends, the spilling-tea-sessions on the gliders, the feeling of being young and building something for yourself, all of it will mean more than you realize while living it.

Most of all, I would tell my freshman-year self this: The version of you that exists four years from now will make you proud.

You will earn opportunities you once only dreamed about. You will grow stronger through every setback. You will learn that hearing “no” does not define you. You will meet people who change your life. You will become someone that younger you would look up to. You will heal and fall in love with life.

So breathe. Be patient. Keep going. 

Everything you are hoping for will find its way to you. Because at the U, the opportunities that are meant for you will always find you. 

Olympic silver medalist diver inducted into UM Athletics Hall of Fame

Bella Armstrong
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Olympic silver medalist diver inducted into UM Athletics Hall of Fame

After climbing out of the pool at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sam Dorman threw up The U.

A small gesture — easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it — but intentional. That moment before he was crowned an Olympic silver medalist wasn’t just about the enormity of what he had accomplished; it was an honor to everyone and everything that got him to that point. 

Now, ten years later, Dorman’s name was etched into the University of Miami Athletics Hall of Fame. It’s a permanent honor for a career built on years of sacrifice for singular moments that never lasted long enough. 

Diving, unlike its athletes, doesn’t stretch. It doesn’t linger.

It compresses. 

Years of training collapse into seconds in the air and into a single splash that decides everything.

Dorman spent nearly two decades building toward that compression. 

At the Olympics, it lasted less than a minute. He earned a silver medal alongside synchro partner Mike Hixon, stood on the podium under the American flag, listened to raucous cheering — but then it was over. 

“There’s really no such thing as a professional diver,” Dorman said. “The Olympics is it.”

Unlike other sports, where there are stages of professional leagues that feed into one that will sustain careers for decades, divers don’t have that option. The Olympics are not the beginning of something bigger, nor are they a stepping stone.

The Olympics are the end.

It’s bittersweet. You spend your whole life working towards this competition, and, in turn, it throws cold water on your face to remind you that time’s almost up. 

But decades before all of that inevitability, diving didn’t feel like something that would eventually end. 

For the Olympian, it started as a game. 

Growing up in the Arizona heat, Dorman spent his childhood summers in a family friend’s backyard pool, where the earliest version of diving looked a lot more like play than pursuit. A red ball would be tossed into the water, and Dorman, balanced on someone’s back, would watch the dive before trying it himself.

Sam Dorman throws up The U at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, credit: Miami Athletics via X

No judges, no scores, no consequence for missing. 

Just the feeling of cutting cleanly into the water.

Somewhere along the way, that feeling evolved into a hunger for more. 

The game became repetition, repetition became expectation and expectation became identity.

That momentum took him all the way to various national and world championships.

While diving for UM, he was crowned the 2015 NCAA champion in the 3-meter springboard with a score of 529.10 points, setting an NCAA record as the first diver to ever exceed the 500-point mark.

At UM, under longtime head coach Randy Abelman and assistant coach Dario di Fazio, who has since taken over the program, diving continued to sharpen into something precise, controlled and demanding.

By this point, diving had long since stopped being something Dorman did. It had become integral to who he was.

And then, abruptly, it wasn’t anymore. 

“Post-Olympic depression is real,” Dorman said. “I spent 19, 20 years training for one hour of competition. Once that’s over, what happens next?”

But that’s the cycle every diver finds themselves tumbling through eventually. 

There’s no slow fade into the truth — just a finish line you don’t realize you’ve crossed until you’re already standing on the other side of it.

Nearly a decade after his first and only Olympic medal, Dorman laughs when he talks about life after it — what’s changed and what remains. He’s happy, working for a company that manufactures diving springboards and still spending time in the pool — for fun now, rather than pushing the limits of physics in a body that once felt more like weaponry than anything else. 

But freedom, without structure, can feel like falling — except this time, there’s no water waiting to catch you. 

Which is why being honored for his career carries its own kind of weight.  

It’s a strange contradiction. Diving is a sport defined by movements and routines that begin and end in the span of a few seconds, but have the potential to be remembered forever.

There is a timer on every diver’s career. The human body can only handle so much twisting, so much compressing, until it’s time to walk away for good. 

Maybe that’s where the meaning of it all settles. The pool is fixed, even if the career that unfolded within it never was.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Dorman said. “If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The injuries, the pressure, the tears and the heartbreak were worth the joy he found in the deep end of a pool. 

He paused. Just for a second. 

“I just hope I represented Miami well,” Dorman said. “I owe them a lot.” 

Now, with his place in Miami’s legacy secured, those moments no longer live only in recollection. 

Some things are meant to be eternal, even in a fleeting sport like diving. That’s what the hall of fame does — it gives permanence to a career built on moments that vanished almost as soon as they happened.

Sam Dorman finished his career with a national championship in the 3M dive / Courtesy JC Ridley / Miami Athletics

Miami Therapists’ Advice for Finals and Summer Resets

Emil Salgado Vazquez
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Finals week is here, and it’s never easy. Stress and anxiety can take over your life, but Jordyn and Jordanne are here to give you some advice for taking on finals week head-on. After finals comes a much-needed summer break, and these Miami therapists have advice on how to make the most of it, too!

Miami routed in game two against NC State, spoiling Evans’s return to the mound

Liam Hickey
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Miami routed in game two against NC State, spoiling Evans’s return to the mound

Off the heels of a turbocharged series opener win, the Miami Hurricanes (33-13, 13-10 ACC) ran out of gas in the second game of their doubleheader on Friday night, falling 13-6 to the NC State Wolfpack (29-17, 11-12 ACC).

Miami’s ace pitcher Rob Evans (8-3) was dinged with the loss, lasting 3.2 innings while allowing four earned runs across three hits. The southpaw tossed 80 pitches over that stretch, sitting down four batters overall. 

Evans, who remains one win away from tying the ACC lead in wins with eight current victories and ranks top five in strikeouts, was not his signature self. The outing marked his first return to the bump since exiting early last Friday night against Cal due to an ankle sprain.

NC State’s Cooper Consiglio (3-3) was credited with the win, punching out nine Hurricanes through six innings of work and 105 pitches. The starter conceded only 2 earned runs over three hits.

After an all-hands-on-deck offensive performance in the first half of Friday’s doubleheader that plated 11 runs in total, the bats sputtered in game two.

The Canes could only muster a team batting average of .132 (5-32), with no player registering more than one hit across multiple plate appearances. All of UM’s runs were produced in a single inning. Two defensive errors added insult to injury as the Hurricanes found themselves on the business end of a rare lopsided defeat.

The Wolfpack struck first when shortstop Christian Serrano blistered a three-run home run 373 feet into deep left field in the bottom of the second to give them an early 3-0 lead.

Miami failed to respond until the seventh inning, handing NC State the chance to bury the Canes even deeper into a hole before they could wake up.

Second baseman Luke Nixon laced an RBI double into right field, scoring Serrano to tack on another run in the fourth. The pair finished among the top offensive leaders of the night, each going 2-4 at the dish with a combined 5 RBIs between the both of them.

The home side delivered the knockout blow in the fifth inning, notching seven runs alone to bring the advantage to 11-0. Two self-induced errors and out-of-rhythm pitching stemming from multiple changes at the mound for Miami saw the Pack build an insurmountable lead off of three hits, three walks, and two wild pitches.

Head coach J.D. Arteaga used the colossal deficit to empty out his bench, giving many of the younger players a shot to impress and earn more opportunities going forward.  

The Canes tried to claw their way back two innings later, leveraging five walks and two hits — a double from Jackson Hugus and an RBI single from NC State transfer Alex Sosa that brought home two runners — to make it 11-6 at the top of the seventh.

However, the rally was short-lived, as the Wolfpack would add on two more insurance runs that same inning to shut down any hopes of a resurgence. 

With both sides splitting the results on Friday night’s doubleheader, everything is left to play for in Saturday night’s rubber match. Miami will look to steal the tiebreaker for their seventh straight series win. 

First pitch is slated to be thrown at 7 p.m. with the television broadcast on ESPN2. Radio coverage can be found on the University of Miami’s very own WVUM 90.5 FM.

Galvin smashes grand slam to seal dramatic win against Wolfpack

Brendan Cafferty
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Galvin smashes grand slam to seal dramatic win against Wolfpack

Against the NC State Wolfpack on Friday, Max Galvin made a triumphant statement, one that would make most fans forget his early-season injury.

A grand slam in the seventh would return the Hurricanes’ lead, ultimately sealing the game, despite a dangerous fourth inning for NC State.

Miami’s 12-9 win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C. came as a result of the entire team’s offensive dominance, tallying 16 hits to State’s 10.

Besides Galvin, who was 2-5 with the slam, highlight players of the day include Jake Ogden, who was 3-5 with an RBI, Derek Williams (3-5; 2 RBI), and Alex Sosa (2-5; 3 RBI, HR). 

Miami struck first, off the backs of second baseman Jake Ogden and Galvin, whose back-to-back base hits gave first baseman Brylan West and catcher Alonzo Alvarez RBI opportunities, which they capitalized on.

In the second, Miami held onto their offensive momentum from the first, scoring four off right fielder Derek Williams’s RBI single and a 3-run, 398 foot blast off the bat of designated hitter Alex Sosa.

With starter Lazaro Collera throwing three scoreless, the Hurricanes held onto their 6-0 lead through the third.

But the fourth brought a reinvigorated Wolfpack up to the plate, as they would notch eight runs in the inning to challenge Miami’s perceived dominant start.

The blunder can be chalked up to two metrics that have plagued the Canes from the beginning of the season: Walks and errors. With Collera allowing three free passes in the inning, along with the error in the field, Miami has continued to prove their own worst enemy in the defensive standpoint.

Collera was pulled after just 3.1 innings, having allowed seven earned runs on just six hits.


A focal piece in the Canes’s rotation, Collera looks to bounce back next week against Louisville.

Regardless, the bats remained a saving grace for the Hurricanes.

Despite NC State tacking on another in the fifth, Miami would light the spark again in the seventh, with Galvin’s 389 foot grand slam responsible for four of the five runs scored in the fateful inning.

Miami would also not allow one to cross after the fifth, with relievers Brixton Lofgren, Jake Dorn, and Lyndon Glidewell combining for a cumulative shutout to end the day.

The Hurricanes would add one more to the tally in the ninth with an RBI single from Williams to drive the score to the 12-9 final.

Walk down memory lane before walking the stage

Katie Karlson
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Walk down memory lane before walking the stage

As undergraduate students prepare to walk the stage and jump into the “real world,” it can be all too easy to get swept up in the festivities and wonder about the unknown. However, it is important that this year’s seniors take a moment to reflect on their last year on campus and how far they have come since move-in day. 

Dr. Pat Whitely, UM’s senior vice president for student affairs and alumni engagement, has been a key leader on UM’s campus since 1982. Reflecting on her own experiences at St. John’s University and the University of South Carolina before she took root at the University of Miami, Whitely understands the uncertainty that may await in the next chapter of life.

Pausing for a moment before rushing into the future is an important step, and Dr. Whitely offers some words of wisdom on how graduating students can learn from their experiences, mistakes and self-discoveries from their time at UM.  

A note from Dr. Whitely:

As your time at the University of Miami comes to a close, it’s worth returning to where it all began — that first day on campus. Maybe you were trying to find your way past Lake Osceola, checking room numbers in unfamiliar buildings or stepping into the Shalala Student Center for the first time. Everything felt uncertain. And yet, without realizing it, that uncertainty was the beginning of everything.

Over time, the campus became second nature. The walk past Lake Osceola turned into routine. Long hours inside Richter Library became part of your rhythm. The people who once felt like strangers became your community. And what stands out now isn’t just what you learned — but how much you’ve changed: more confident, more resilient, more willing to take risks and grow from them.

This year, that growth unfolded alongside something larger. As members of the graduating class, you were part of celebrating the University of Miami Centennial — a milestone that honored a century of progress, resilience and impact. Through campus events, traditions and shared moments of reflection, you didn’t just witness history — you helped carry it forward. Your time here became part of a legacy stretching back 100 years, connecting your experiences to generations of Hurricanes before you.

Along the way, there were moments that reminded you what it means to belong. Not just in celebrations like Homecoming or game days, but in quieter, more meaningful ways — when someone checked in on you, or when you noticed a classmate struggling and chose to reach out.

That’s what Canes Care for Canes is really about. It’s not just a phrase — it’s a shared responsibility to look out for one another, especially when someone may be facing challenges and needs support. It’s about taking action, whether that means offering help, connecting someone to resources, or simply not ignoring when something feels off. It reflects a campus culture built on care, respect, and accountability among peers.

There are accomplishments to carry forward — academic successes, leadership roles and personal growth that no transcript can fully capture. And yes, there may be regrets too. But even those moments helped shape your path and clarify what matters most.

Before you graduate, take a walk — alone — across campus. Start somewhere familiar. Pass the places that defined your time here. Sit for a moment and reflect: How have you changed? What surprised you? What will you miss?

Because it’s in those reflections that the most meaningful memories surface — the late nights, the small wins, the friendships that made this place feel like home.

As you move forward, there will be pressure to define success quickly. Resist that. The most meaningful paths are shaped by authenticity, not comparison. And when things don’t go as planned, remember: Starting over isn’t failure — it’s clarity.

What will matter most is how you show up for others. The mindset behind Canes Care for Canes doesn’t end here — it goes with you. It’s now part of who you are.

So take that walk. Not just for closure, but for recognition. The person who arrived here is not the person leaving.

This isn’t an ending. It’s a continuation — grounded in growth, shaped by community and forever connected to The U — and to the century of stories you now help define.

Senior Balaj Raza turned content creation into a career path

Katie Karlson
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Senior Balaj Raza turned content creation into a career path

“When I was first hired as a Canes Creator, I remember going into one of our first content pitch meetings and showing my supervisor dorm tour videos I kept seeing from the University of Tampa on my TikTok For You Page,” said UM senior Balaj Raza. 

What started as a simple social media pitch transformed Raza, a public relations and journalism double major, into one of UM’s most recognizable student content creators. 

The Canes Creator program hires students to create content for the University’s social media accounts. The program’s goal is for students to create a portfolio and gain more experience in the industry.  

Through viral dorm tours, journalism skills, marketing roles and even a barista gig at Honey Veil, Raza spent his four years building his own brand, which is now taking him to Columbia University in the fall.

Filming the dorm tour series “completely changed [his] experience at UM,” helping him land his marketing internship with the City of Miami Beach and opening doors to exciting opportunities.

“It also helped me build connections across campus, and it’s been really cool being recognized by students because of something I created,” he said.

Raza will begin his master’s program at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies, where he plans to study strategic communication with a concentration in digital marketing. He attributes his many leadership roles and extracurriculars to helping him decide this path.

“All of those experiences showed me that I want to build a career in digital marketing, media strategy and brand storytelling,” he said.

In particular, Raza feels that joining the Campus Creator Club — a club focused on connecting campus creators with brands — when it first began in his junior year opened his eyes to new possibilities in social media and marketing.     

“Through the club, I learned more about influencer marketing, brand partnerships and the business side of content creation,” he said. “It helped me better understand how creators work with brands and opened my eyes to opportunities like PR packages, partnerships and long-term brand relationships.”

Raza also emphasized that his experiences with the University of Miami Television, The Miami Hurricane and the Society of Professional Journalists have shaped how he approaches marketing and content creation.

All three of these organizations taught him how to connect with audiences and relay important messages — key elements of journalism but also marketing. 

“Some of my articles, including pieces about navigating Miami as a gay student and the challenges of finding gluten-free dining options on campus, gained a lot of attention on TikTok, Instagram and even Yik Yak,” Raza said. “At the end of the day, both journalism and marketing are about understanding people and telling stories that matter.”

Apart from campus organizations, Raza found a real-world marketing lesson through his barista job at Honey Veil, a matcha café founded by two sisters who attend UM. 

He highlighted that posting content multiple times a day is challenging for most large brands, but the Honey Veil team pulls it off.

“Watching how intentional they are with branding and social media has been really inspiring because content creation is something I’m passionate about too,” said Raza. 

While Raza has been incredibly successful at UM and made the most of every opportunity, he also discussed how he faced plenty of challenges and rejections in his college career that forced him to pivot or change how he approached a problem.


 “I’ve heard ‘no’ far more times than I’ve heard ‘yes.’ I’ve faced rejection, setbacks and moments where things didn’t go the way I planned,” he said. “But I kept pushing forward, and I think that persistence is what got me here. Everything really does work out the way it’s meant to, and I’m living proof that rejection can sometimes redirect you toward something even better.”

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