The Terrapins men’s tennis team battled its way to its first victory in five matches yesterday, beating No. 51 Miami, 4-3, in its last home match of the weekend.
The Terps (5-12, 2-5 ACC) won three singles contests and all three of their doubles matches to defeat the Hurricanes (8-8, 1-6 ACC) for the first time in school history.
“I was so proud of the guys,” coach Kyle Spencer said. “I’m so excited for them to get this win.
“I think this is the first time ever we’ve beaten Miami in the history of the program, and that dates back a long time.”
The team started off fast in doubles, as No. 24 Maros Horny and John Collins dismantled Miami’s doubles duo, 8-3. Juniors Jesse Kiuru and Andy Magee won, 8-2, to secure the doubles point for the Terps.
With one point locked up, freshman Vlad Stefan and junior Tommy Laine completed the doubles sweep to move the team’s overall doubles record to 35-15.
For the first time in the past two weeks, the Terps sustained the momentum from their doubles play, taking three of their singles matches and the eventual match victory.
The team’s close win followed an equally close loss Friday, when it fell, 4-3, to No. 28 Florida State (16-4, 7-0 ACC). The Terps won three of their singles matches against the Seminoles, but even that wasn’t good enough.
For the first time in the past two months, the team lost the doubles point, which it had lost only three times in that time, and all to ranked opponents — No. 4 Virginia, No. 29 Baylor and Florida State.
“It has been a really tough year,” Spencer said. “There hasn’t been a lot of support from people coming out to see us play, and that’s disappointing, but at the same time the inner strength these young men have speaks volumes about them.”
The women’s team also faced Miami and Florida State this weekend, losing both of its matches to the Floridian teams and extending its losing streak to seven.
On Friday, the No. 37 Seminoles (11-6, 4-2 ACC) defeated the visiting No. 69 Terps (6-11, 0-7), 6-1, winning all but one singles and doubles match that afternoon. Sophomore Cristina Stancu and junior Vroni Van Berlo proved the lone successful pairing with an 8-6 victory over Florida State. Stancu was the lone singles victor, as well, as she dominated in a 6-0, 6-1 straight-sets victory.
In the Terps’ match against the No. 5 Hurricanes (15-1, 7-0 ACC), Stancu again showed up big for the Terps yesterday, defeating No. 18 Anna Bartenstein for her second victory over a top-20 opponent this spring. Miami, however, bested the Terps, 5-2.
walker@umdbk.com
