March 9, 2014
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech won the doubles point in dramatic fashion, but could not carry its momentum over to singles Sunday afternoon and dropped a 5-2 decision to Miami in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis match at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Tech (6-6, 0-2 ACC) dropped its sixth match in the last eight, while the Hurricanes (7-4, 1-1 ACC) rebounded from a loss at Clemson on Friday.
“I felt we played critical points in the doubles pretty well today,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “But at the critical times in singles, they played better than we did. For some reason, we keep getting off to bad starts, and we need to figure that out. In the longer rallies, they beat us out, and we have about a week and a half to figure that out before we play again.”
Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, ranked 36th in the nation, outlasted Miami’s Omar Aly and Wilfredo Gonzalez in a back-and-forth tiebreaker, 16-14, to win at No. 1 doubles, 8-7, and clinch the point for Tech. Cole Fiegel and Nathan Rakitt had taken an 8-6 decision on court 2 over Gabriel Flores and Diego Soto, and Tech’s No. 3 team of Colin Edwards and Will Showers were battling in a tiebreaker of their own when the point was decided.
The Hurricanes won the first three singles matches in straight sets, however, beginning with Aly’s 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Nathan Rakitt at No. 1. Henrique Tsukamoto beat Edwards, 6-4, 6-1, on court 6, and Flores took a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Benito on court 2.
Soto went three sets with Segura at No. 3, but eventually earned the fourth and clinching point for Miami, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.
Fiegel earned Tech’s only singles point, rallying from a first-set loss to defeat Gonzalez, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, on court 4, improving his record this spring to 8-1.
Tech is off until March 21, when it hosts Boston College at the Byers Complex.
Miami 5, #52 Georgia Tech 2Mar 9, 2014 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
Singles competition 1. Omar Aly (UM) def. Nathan Rakitt (GT) 6-0, 6-2 2. Gabriel Flores (UM) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-3, 6-4 3. Diego Soto (UM) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 4. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 5. William Albanese (UM) def. Will Showers (GT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 6. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) def. Colin Edwards (GT) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition 1. #36 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Omar Aly/Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 8-7 (16-14) 2. Cole Fiegel/Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Gabriel Flores/Diego Soto (UM) 8-6 3. Colin Edwards/Will Showers (GT) vs. William Albanese/Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) 7-7 (7-6), unfinished
Match Notes Miami 7-4, 1-1 ACC Georgia Tech 6-6, 0-2 ACC; National ranking #52 Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,6,2,3,4,5) T-3:00, A-150
