Jan. 24, 2007

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The No. 11 University of Miami men's tennis team picked up a win versus its second in-state opponent of the week, defeating Stetson, 6-1, on Wednesday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

The Hurricanes won all three doubles matches and claimed five of six singles matches to improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Hatters fell to 0-2.

Senior All-American Luigi D'Agord (Freeport, Bahamas) remained undefeated at the No. 1 position, using a straight sets victory over No. 61 Marcus Echtler to improve to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 versus ranked opponents.

Sophomore All-American Daniel Vallverdu (Valencia, Venezuela) and freshman Hector Nieto (Key Biscayne, Fla./Coral Gables) also won their flights in straight sets, while senior Josh Cohen (Weston, Fla./Laurel Springs) used three sets to dispose of Filip Kricka in the No. 2 position to pick up his fourth singles win of 2007.

Miami freshman J.C. Whitner (Bradenton, Fla./Pendleton) earned his first singles win of the season, with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Pete Dzuba in the No. 6 spot.

"Our freshmen are getting some great experience in these opening matches," said Hurricanes head coach Mario Rincon. "J.C. had a good day, as he clinched the match for us to take some pressure off the players still on."

"We came out with great firepower in the doubles to take control of the match," added assistant coach C.J. Weber. "But in singles, we got off to a slow start and gave Stetson too many opportunities to get back into the match."

The University of Miami men's tennis team returns to competition at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center on Sunday, February 4, versus Wisconsin at 11 a.m. Admission to all regular-season matches at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center is free.

Stetson at No. 11 Miami
January 24, 2007
Miami 6, Stetson 1

Singles
1. Luigi D'Agord (UM) def. No. 61 Marcus Echtler (SU); 6-4, 6-3
2. Josh Cohen (UM) def. Filip Kricka (SU); 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
3. Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. Serguei Boulanov (SU); 6-2, 3-0 (ret.)
4. Hector Nieto (UM) def. Joey Jones (SU); 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Hicham Laalej (SU) def. Barnabas Carrega (UM); 6-2, 6-1
6. J.C. Whitner (UM) def. Peter Dzuba (SU); 7-5, 6-0

Doubles
1. D'Agord/Cohen (UM) def. Echtler/Kricka (SU); 8-6
2. Vallverdu/Nieto (UM) def. Jones/Boulanov (SU); 8-4
3. Carrega/Whitner (UM) def. Laalej/Dzuba (SU); 8-1