Miami men’s tennis ends regular season with a win, powers past Clemson

Miami (16-8, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) won another close contest against the Clemson Tigers (11-13, 2-10 ACC) to finish the regular season on a high note.

Doubles play began with the Canes trailing early on Courts 1 and 2. The pair of Argentinian juniors, Juan Martin Jalif and Franco Aubone, ended up losing, 2-6.

UM responded on Court 3 as senior Bojan Jankulovski and graduate student Dan Martin extended their hot streak in doubles. They put together a dominant 6-3 win to level the doubles point at one apiece. Clemson had the final say, outlasting senior Benjamin Hannestad and freshman Martin Katz, 6-4.

With singles play having commenced, UM took control on Courts 1, 5, and 6. These were the same positions that won two days earlier against Georgia Tech. The only difference was that the Hurricanes lacked the doubles point, which would have given them the four necessary points.

On Court 6, Aubone carried his momentum from the previous match, winning with ease, 6-2, 6-4. Katz followed suit on Court 5, 6-4, 6-3, notching another point for the Canes.

Miami got the break they needed on Court 4. Jalif trailed early, 2-4, in the first set but came roaring back to overtake the score at 7-6 to grab the opening set. He closed out the second set in style, 6-3, to give the Hurricanes the boost they needed in singles.

Hannestad fell short on Court 3 in a hard-fought, three-set match, 2-6, 6-2, 3-6, to put the match score at 3-2.

Martin delivered the Hurricanes the much-needed win in a grueling 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 thriller. The Laval, Quebec native has been on an absolute tear in the month of April and could potentially make some noise in ACC tournament play.

Jankulovski’s match on Court 2 was abandoned after Miami collected the win, 6-4,4-6, 3-3.

UM gained some much-needed momentum as they prepare for the ACC Tournament later this week.