April 21, 2006

Cary, NC - The sixth-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis took third-seeded and 10th-ranked Miami to the limit on Friday afternoon, but lost 4-3 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Cary, N.C.

Exactly one week ago during the regular season matchup in Coral Gables, the Deacons squandered two match points and eventually dropped the match, 5-2. In today's match, Wake Forest played with emotion, determined to exact revenge.

In doubles, the Deacons (15-10) breezed past the Hurricanes. Cory Parr and Todd Paul earned an 8-4 win at number two and a few minutes later, Mariusz Adamski and Andrew Hamar gave the Deacons a 1-0 lead with an 8-5 win at number three.

But just like last week's match when Wake Forest won the doubles point, the Hurricanes stormed back to take big leads in singles. Miami won five of the six first sets. The lone holdout for the Deacons was senior Liron Strauss.

Miami (18-3) tied the match at one with Josh Cohen's 6-1, 6-1 win at number three over Parr. The Hurricanes took the lead as Daniel Vallverdu defeated Andrew Hamar, 6-4, 6-3, at number two.

But the Deacons were battling on every other court, forcing a third set. At number one, Paul was eventually overcome by ACC Player of the Year Luigi D'Agord, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, to increase Miami's lead to 3-1.

Just minutes later, Brett Ross came from behind to beat Tim Krebs at number four, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. At number six, Strauss captured the second set tiebreaker 7-3 to win in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

That left Wake Forest's Mariusz Adamski and Miami's Eric Hechtman to decide who would advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals. At the time, they were on serve in the third set at 4-4. Hechtman held serve to take a 5-4 lead and then broke Adamski's serve to capture the victory for the Hurricanes.

Miami moves on to face second-seeded Virginia on Saturday at noon. The Deacons drop to 15-10 overall and await word from the NCAA Selection Committee regarding an at-large berth. Wake Forest expects to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament for a school-record sixth straight season.

#3 Miami 4, #6 Wake Forest 3
Singles
1. #4 Luigi D'Agord (UM) def. #17 Todd Paul (WF) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
2. #102 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. Andrew Hamar (WF) 6-4, 6-3
3. #98 Josh Cohen (UM) def. Cory Parr (WF) 6-1, 6-1
4. Brett Ross (WF) def. Tim Krebs (UM) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Eric Hechtman (UM) def. Mariusz Adamski (WF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Liron Strauss (WF) def. John Hoyes (UM) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Doubles:
1. Ross/Sartor (WF) vs. #15 D'Agord/Vallverdu (UM) DNF -- tied, 5-5
2. Parr/Paul (WF) def. Krebs/Subramanian (UM) 8-4
3. Adamski/Hamar (WF) vs. Cohen/Hechtman (UM) 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5)
WF: 15-10
UM: 18-3; advances to Saturday's semifinal vs. #2 Virginia at 12:00 p.m.