March 8, 2015
Coral Gables, Fla. – Nathan Rakitt and Carlos Benito picked up important straight-set wins in singles after a long rain delay, and Georgia Tech went on to defeat Miami, 4-2, Sunday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
The Yellow Jackets, who opened their Atlantic Coast Conference slate with two road wins this weekend and improved to 9-3, began the day by winning the doubles point for the 10th time in 12 matches and had a fast start in singles before a three-hour rain delay nearly thwarted Tech’s effort. The Hurricanes, who were playing their first conference match, fell to 4-6.
“We faced some good adversity today with it being our first outdoor match on a windy rainy day,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “It should toughen us up.”
Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, ranked 51st in the nation, clinched the doubles point for Tech in a tiebreaker over Henrique Tsukamoto and Piotr Lomacki on court 1. Michael Kay and Christopher Eubanks got the Jackets rolling on court 2 with an 8-3 win over Wilfredo Gonzalez and Kevin Bondar.
“We did a great job of getting number 2 doubles off the court fairly quick with a solid win,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We were fortunate to be able to come back from a break down at one doubles and clinch.”
The rain came after Kay, Cole Fiegel and Segura had won the first set in their matches on courts 4, 5 and 6. Three hours later, Lomacki, ranked 75th in the nation, completed a 7-5, 6-2 win over Tech freshman Christopher Eubanks, ranked 57th, on court 1 to even the match at 1-1. Fiegel gave Tech the lead back with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Bernard Tefel on court 5.
Meanwhile, Rakitt, ranked 90th in the nation, rallied from a first-set deficit to defeat Christian Langmo, 7-6 (3), 6-3, on court 2 to give the Jackets a 3-1 advantage. After Tsukamoto finished a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Kay to close the gap to 3-2, Benito earned Tech’s clinching point with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Gonzalez on court 3.
Benito, a sophomore from Madrid, Spain, won his sixth straight match and improved to 10-1.
“Miami did a great job of coming out of a long rain delay by winning at one and winning two second sets at 4 and 6,” said Thorne. “Nathan fought back in his first set and closed his match out along with Cole which helped give us some momentum back. Miami played a great match down the stretch, but Carlos met the challenge and did what he has been doing so well all season and clinched it for us.”
Tech returns to action next Sunday with a home ACC match against No. 29 Florida State at 2 p.m. at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Georgia Tech 4, Miami 2
Mar 8, 2015 at Coral Gables, Fla. (Neil Schiff Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #75 Piotr Lomacki (UM) def. #57 Christopher Eubanks (GT) 7-5, 6-2
2. #90 Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Christian Langmo (UM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
3. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 6-2, 6-4
4. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Michael Kay (GT) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Bernard Tefel (UM) 6-0, 7-5
6. Kevin Bondar (UM) vs. Eduardo Segura (GT) 3-6, 7-5, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #51 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Henrique Tsukamoto/Piotr Lomacki (UM) 8-7 (7-5)
2. Michael Kay/Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez/Kevin Bondar (UM) 8-3
3. Nile Clark/Alexander Fahnehjelm (UM) vs. Casey Kay/Cole Fiegel (GT) 7-6, unfinished
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 9-3, 2-0 ACC
Miami 4-6, 0-1 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,5,2,4,3)
