Rice University
Miami
Miami Edges Rice 4-3
3/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 18, 2007
MIAMI, Fla. -- In a marathon match that lasted more than four hours, Miami edged Rice 4-3 Sunday afternoon in dual-match action in Miami, Fla.
Ben Harknett and Filip Paroci evened the doubles score at 1-1 with their 9-7 win against Hector Nieto and J.C. Whitner at No. 3, before the Hurricanes earned a 9-7 decision in their favor at No. 2 to take the point.
Miami pushed the lead to 2-0 with a win at No. 3 singles before the Owls got on the board with a pair of wins. Playing at No. 4 singles, Christoph Müller beat Vivek Subramanian 6-4, 6-3, then Jason Mok downed Whitner 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5 to even the score. The Hurricanes' No. 44 Luigi D'Agord won a tightly contested match against the Owls' Harknett, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, at the top spot to put Miami back in the lead. Filip Zivojinovic then tied the score again for Rice, finishing his 7-6, 6-2 sweep of Nieto at the bottom of the ladder.
The match came down to a tough battle at No. 2 singles where the Hurricanes' 65th-ranked Daniel Vallverdu rallied to defeat the Owls' 116th-ranked Ralph Knupfer 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.
The loss drops 17th-ranked Rice to 10-6 on the year, while marking Miami's second win in as many days against a top-25 opponent.
After nine consecutive road matches, the Owls return home next weekend to host the 46th Annual Rice Invitational. Joining the Owls at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium are Oklahoma, William & Mary and Middle Tennessee State. The dual-match tournament runs Friday through Sunday, with the first match of each day beginning at 9 am, while Rice plays each day at 1 pm.
Results
No. 73 Miami 4, No. 17 Rice 3
Doubles
1. No. 15 Cohen/D'Agord (UM) def. Scheil/Knupfer (RU), 8-3
2. Vallverdu/Subramanian (UM) def. Mok/Müller (RU), 9-7
3. Harknett/Paroci (RU) def. Nieto/Whitner (UM), 9-7
Singles
1. No. 44 Luigi D'Agord (UM) def. No. 25 Ben Harknett (RU), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6
2. No. 65 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. No. 116 Ralph Knupfer (RU), 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
3. Josh Cohen (UM) def. Filip Paroci (RU), 6-2, 6-3
4. Christoph Müller (RU) def. Vivek Subramanian (UM), 6-4, 6-3
5. No. 97 Jason Mok (RU) def. J.C. Whitner (UM), 6-3, 6-3
6. Filip Zivojinovic (RU) def. Hector Nieto (UM), 7-6, 6-2
Order of Finish: D1, D3, D2, S3, S4, S5, S1, S6, S2
Players Mentioned
