University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Rally, Bonin Clinches Win Over No. 25 Miami
3/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
After having its win streak snapped at seven by No. 23 Washington on March 5, the Minnesota men’s tennis team got back on track with a 4-3 win against No. 25 Miami at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Miami, Fl. on Friday. The 23rd-ranked Gophers avenged a 2006 NCAA Tournament loss to the Hurricanes that ended the team’s season the last time the two schools met. The loss snapped a five-match win streak for Miami.
Despite losing the first doubles match of the day at No. 2, Minnesota rallied to claim the competition and the match’s first point. Sebastian Gallego and Phillip Arndt won 8-5 at the top position to knot the score and Brendan Ruddock and Julian Dehn clinched the point with an 8-4 win at No. 3.
The Hurricanes broke even in singles play when Gabriel Flores beat Minnesota’s Michael Sicora at the sixth spot, 6-3, 6-1. It was Sicora’s first match of the season.
From that point, the teams continued to go back and forth from that until the match was tied 3-3.
Tobias Wernet put the Gophers up 2-1 with a straight-set win at No. 2 and Miami answered back with a 6-4, 6-3 win by Keith Crowley over Arndt. The Hurricanes gained their first lead of the match and put the Gophers on the brink of a loss when Eduardo Pavia took down Dehn at No. 5, but Minnesota responded.
With the match on the line, Ruddock eked out a 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 win over Miami’s Carl Sundberg at No. 4 to re-tie the score and run his dual match singles record to 7-2 on the season. At the top position, Rok Bonin gave the Gophers their ninth win of the season and won his fourth singles contest in his last five by grinding out a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8) victory over Christian Blöcker.
Minnesota will return home for the first time in a month next week with two matches at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Gophers will host Big Ten foe and 66th-ranked Northwestern on Friday and will wrap up non-conference play against Denver on Saturday.
Singles competition
1. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Christian Blöcker (MIAMI) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
2. Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Waylon Chin (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-1
3. Keith Crowley (MIAMI) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN) 6-4, 6-3
4. Brendan Ruddock (MINN) def. Carl Sundberg (MIAMI) 7-6, 3-6, 7-5
5. Eduardo Pavia (MIAMI) def. Julian Dehn (MINN) 7-6, 6-1
6. Gabriel Flores (MIAMI) def. Michael Sicora (MINN) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Sebastian Gallego/Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Keith Crowley/Waylon Chin (MIAMI) 8-5
2. Carl Sundberg/Christian Blöcker (MIAMI) def. Tobias Wernet/Rok Bonin (MINN) 8-3
3. Brendan Ruddock/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Omar Aly/Santiago Nieto (MIAMI) 8-4
Match Notes:
Minnesota 9-2; National ranking No. 23
Miami 8-4; National ranking No. 25
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,2,3,5,4,1)
Players Mentioned
