Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech men?s tennis team fell to the University of Miami Hurricanes Sunday afternoon, losing to their conference rival by a score of 6-1.

Sunday?s result, though lopsided, consisted of several close, hard-fought matches for the Hokies, who were unable to convert on their chances against the No. 14 team in the country.

Tech?s close loss against Miami was a familiar refrain for a team that has lost several close matches against conference opponents, typically much closer than final score.

Despite the loss, head coach Jim Thompson was content with the play of his team, especially that of freshman Nicolas Delgado, who was the lone winner on the day for the Hokies.

"Nicholas came out real well to win his match at the fourth spot," said Thompson. "I was very proud of him, along with my other freshman down at the bottom at five and six (David Rosenfeld and Brandon Corrace). Overall, I thought we played real well at the bottom to split sets against such a good team."

Thompson also praised the effort of his top singles player, junior Arvid Puranen, currently ranked 52nd in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, for putting forth a noble effort in his matchup against Miami?s Luigi D?Agord, falling by a score of 3-6, 1-6. As was the case with several other Tech matches, Puranen?s match was much closer than the final score indicated.

"Arvid fought hard with that guy and played really well," Thompson said. "He?s been having a great year for us, winning a lot of matches. D?Agord?s one of the best players in all of college, so I have nothing but praise for Arvid?s effort. It was a close, hard-fought match."

Proving worthy of his title as the fifth-best singles player in the nation, D?Agord unleashed a deadly arsenal of weapons against Puranen, beginning with a booming first serve and escalating to a series of powerful groundstrokes from the baseline. Puranen was able to withstand the bulk of D?Agord?s offensive attack, only to come up short on several crucial points that unfortunately proved to be too much for the Hokie junior.

"There were times today where if I would have won a few key points, things could have gone much differently my way," said Puranen. "Winning those points would have been big, but (Luigi) came out ready for today ? he played with a lot of power and took the ball on early, hitting it with a lot of accuracy."

D?Agord wasn?t the only one to encounter a problem Sunday, as Thompson later mentioned, Miami was a solid, all-around team from top to bottom.

"They?re good, and they?re good at all six spots," Thompson said. "With having a lot of seniors, they have a lot of experience, and today they really took it to us. They have a great program, and hopefully we?ll get them next time."

Despite the loss, Thompson remained optimistic in addressing Tech?s immediate and long-term future, stressing the fact that success for his team will arrive as they mature and overcome inexperience.

"In the end, it all boils down to the fact that we have a lot of younger guys and a lot to learn ? a lot to improve upon," he said. "You look at our top six ? a junior, two sophomores and three freshmen. We know we?re young, but we?re headed in the right direction, and only getting better. Our time will come."

With the loss, Tech?s conference record falls to 3-5, while its overall record dropped to three games over .500 at 12-9.

The Hokies will look to end their recent string of disappointments Wednesday, as their season will continue with a home match against the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University outside the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center at 2 p.m.