Jan. 30, 2008

Whitner Powers Men's Tennis Past No. 13 Florida

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The No. 36 University of Miami men's tennis team upset No. 13 University of Florida, 4-3, Tuesday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in a match-up of two ranked, in-state foes.

With the score tied 3-3, the match came down to the battle at the No. 6 position with UM's J.C. Whitner facing UF's Erik Corace. Whitner won the first set, 7-6, before Corace took the second, 6-1. Whitner would take an early 2-1 lead in the third set and would never look back, pulling away for the 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 win.

"That was a huge win for this program," said Miami head coach Mario Rincon. "I'm so proud of our players, our coaches and our fans for all of their support.

"JC decided the match in a big fashion. He has improved so much since last year, and I knew that sooner or later, he would come through for us in a huge way. This win is certainly gratifying, however we must continue to improve and develop our players."

Tar Heels Complete Doubleheader Sweep

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's No. 10 men's tennis team completed a doubleheader sweep Tuesday night with a 7-0 victory over North Carolina Central in an indoor match at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Earlier in the day the Tar Heels opened their dual match season with a 7-0 victory over Campbell.

Carolina played a radically different lineup against the Eagles with only senior Will Plyler playing his second singles match of the day. In doubles, the No. 3-ranked team of Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney held serve a second time in the day and Andrew Crone and Stefan Hardy also posted their second win of the day. Seniors Sandeep Daiya and Jeff Schroeder earned a doubles start at No. 3 and bageled their opponents 8-0.

• More from NC Central Match
• More from Campbell Match

No. 15 Duke Downs Princeton 5-2

DURHAM, N.C. - The 15th-ranked Duke men's tennis team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 5-2 victory over No. 73 Princeton on Tuesday as head coach Jay Lapidus squared off against his alma mater at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

"We have played them a few times and it is always nice to play the Princeton guys," said Lapidus. "You have to have a sense of nostalgia when you see the orange and black because I played in those colors for a few years. It was fun to play them and they have a great group of guys. They are a good team and they competed very well I thought."

Duke led 5-0 before the Tigers closed out the match with two narrow victories. The Blue Devils had a strong start in singles by winning the first set in five of the six contests. Four Duke players went on to win in straight sets and put the match away.