THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s tennis team (6-4, 0-1 ACC) put forth a strong effort in doubles and singles against No. 33 Miami (9-2, 2-0 ACC) in the Jackets ACC opener but fell short in a close 4-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Tech got off to a hot start as the duo of senior Carlos Divar and freshman Marcus McDaniel defeated the No. 15 nationally ranked doubles pairing of Franco Aubone and Benjamin Hannestad 6-2 on court one. The Hurricanes would clinch the doubles point after winning courts two and three.
“We had an opportunity against a good Miami team but did not convert,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “When we beat the No. 15 doubles team in the country and did not end up winning the doubles point, that hurt us. We did not let it affect us in singles and all of our matches were close all the way down to the end of the first sets, but we lost four of the first six sets.”
Miami struck first in singles as Hannestad won court three in straight sets despite McDaniel battling to a tiebreaker in the first. Junior Brandon Freestone answered back as he also won his match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 to bring the Jackets within one.
Shortly after freshman Andres Martin, the No. 65 nationally ranked singles player, topped the No. 41 ranked individual in Adria Soriano Barrera in straight sets after also playing for a tiebreaker in the first set. Martin’s effort tied the match up at 2-2 before Miami’s Bojan Jankulovski locked up the Hurricanes third point on court four.
Tech Sophomore Cole Gromley battled on court two in a grueling effort, just barely losing a down to the wire tiebreaker in the first set to Francisco Bastias before falling 6-2 in the second sealing Miami’s win in the deciding match.
“Keshav [Chopra] fought back well on court six and was up a break in the third when Miami clinched,” added Thorne. “I was proud of Brandon for coming in and being a catalyst with his win. Andres did a good job taking out the No. 41 ranked player in the nation. We will be back and ready for Clemson this Friday.”
The Yellow Jackets will remain at home for their next match against Clemson on Friday, Feb. 28 with a start time set for 2:00 p.m. (EST).
RESULTS
Doubles competition
- Carlos Divar/Marcus McDaniel (GT) def. #15 Franco Aubone/Benjamin Hannestad (UM) 6-2
- #53 Francisco Bastias/Adria Soriano Barrer (UM) def. Keshav Chopra/Andres Martin (GT) 6-3
- Dane Dunlap/Bojan Jankulovski (UM) def. Brandon Freestone/Chris Yun (GT) 6-4
Singles competition
- #65 Andres Martin (GT) def. #41 Adria Soriano Barrera (UM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
- Francisco Bastias (UM) def. Cole Gromley (GT) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
- Benjamin Hannestad (UM) def. Marcus McDaniel (GT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
- Bojan Jankulovski (UM) def. Chris Yun (GT) 6-4, 6-3
- Brandon Freestone (GT) def. Dane Dunlap (UM) 6-3, 6-3
- Keshav Chopra (GT) vs. Franco Aubone (UM) 4-6, 6-4, 2-0, unfinished
Match Notes:
Miami 9-2; National ranking #33
Georgia Tech 6-4; National ranking #38
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,1,4,2)
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