Tigers Top Hurricanes in ACC Opener

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Clemson men’s tennis team opened ACC play with its sixth straight victory over Miami, 4-3. The last time the Tigers fell to Miami was in 2011. Clemson improves to 8-2 (1-0 ACC) while Miami slips to 3-3 (0-1 ACC). 

Miami took care of business in doubles with victories on courts one and two to clinch the doubles point. Seniors Daffra Sanon and Arturo Pinazo were leading 5-4 on court three, but that was not enough for the Tigers in doubles play. The Canes claimed a pair of 6-3 victories to take the 1-0 advantage heading into singles.

The Canes took a 2-0 lead after #63 Lomacki took down Alex Favrot at No. 1 but not before Favrot made it interesting. Favrot lost the first set 1-6 and was down 0-5 in the second set before coming to make the score 6-5 but fell in the tiebreak 7-6(1). Dudley got the Tigers on the board when he won in straight sets at No. 3, 6-4, 6-4 improving to 7-1 in dual matches and extending his winning streak to seven. Sanon would level the score at 2-2 after he defeated Langmo of Miami at No. 2, 6-3, 7-6(4). Freshman Carlos Kelaidis improved to 6-1 overall after he was victorious at No. 6, 7-6, 6-4 to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead over the Canes. In his first ACC match, junior Sam Edwards delivered for the Tigers. He clinched the match in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to lift the Tigers in their ACC opener. The only remaining match would be played out, and Pinazo forced a third set super tiebreak before falling, 6-7(5), 6-4, 0-1.

“Our guys made a big commitment this week to doing extras. We did more extras this week than we did all fall. This win validates their work, and I am proud of the toughness they showed today,” said Head Coach John Boetsch. “We did a better job with our fundamentals and how we finished different situations.”

Clemson returns to the courts next Friday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. against Cornell and Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. against Wisconsin in Ithaca, N.Y.