THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team defeated Miami, 4-2, in the team’s conference home opener on Friday evening.
The Court 1 pairing of Christophe Clement and Hidde Schoenmakers broke their opponent’s service games twice to go ahead 4-2 before serving out a 6-3 victory. Clement and Schoenmakers earned their second-consecutive ACC win and evened the round at 1-1 after Miami won on Court 3.
All eyes turned to Court 2 for the doubles point. Jonathan Irwanto and Richard Biagiotti were facing a loss down 5-1 but swung the momentum after two service breaks and climbed all the way back at 5-5. The Tech duo won an otherworldly 14 consecutive points to steal the doubles point.
The Hurricanes took the early advantage in singles play as they won four of the six opening sets in singles play, winning matches on Courts 1 and 5 to take the lead at 2-1.
Tech fought back with second set wins by Gianluca Carlini and Biagiotti to apply the pressure and force third sets across four courts. Carlini wiped away his 6-3 first set loss with a 6-2 second frame before grinding out a 6-4 finish to level the match at 2-2. The sophomore secured his first conference singles win of the campaign.
Biagiotti was the next Yellow Jacket to complete his comeback, erasing his first set by winning 12 of the last 16 games to claim a well-earned three-set victory, restoring the Tech lead at 3-2. Biagiotti earned his 15th singles win of the season and first ACC win.
Schoenmakers was in a race with Irwanto as both Tech players led their respective third sets, vying to clinch the match. The freshman would seal the deal with a 6-3 third frame to secure the team’s first conference win of the season. Irwanto led 5-3 in his match on Court 4, just one game away from his first career ACC victory.
Georgia Tech will complete the weekend with a matchup against Florida State on Sunday at 12 p.m. The teams sit just two spots apart from one another in the ITA Team Rankings.
#55 Georgia Tech 4, #66 Miami 2
Singles:
- #98 Antonio Prat (UM) def. Christophe Clement (GT) 7-6 (2), 6-2
- Hidde Schoenmakers (GT) def. Nacho Serra Sanchez (UM) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
- Gianluca Carlini (GT) def. Jakub Kroslak (UM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Jonathan Irwanto (GT) vs. Rafael Segado (UM) 6-2, 0-6, 5-3, unfinished
- Mehdi Sadaoui (UM) def. Elias Shokry (GT) 6-1, 6-2
- Richard Biagiotti (GT) def. Jules Garot (UM) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles:
- Christophe Clement/Hidde Schoenmakers (GT) def. Antonio Prat/Jakub Kroslak (UM) 6-3
- Jonathan Irwanto/Richard Biagiotti (GT) def. Rafael Segado/Jules Garot (UM) 7-5
- Nacho Serra Sanchez/Mehdi Sadaoui (UM) def. Gianluca Carlini/Elias Shokry (GT) 6-2
Georgia Tech (9-6, 1-4 ACC) | Miami (7-8, 0-5 ACC)
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (5, 1, 3, 6, 2)
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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