Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Pennsylvania men's tennis team dropped its final match in Florida, 4-3 to Miami. The Quakers' attempt at a comeback fell just short, as the Hurricanes grabbed the winner-take-all match at No. 5.

Penn is now 10-6 and Miami moves to 9-5 and 7-1 at home.

In doubles play, the duo of Parashar Bharadwaj/Manfredi Graziani took down Sam Baumgartner/Nacho Serra Sanchez at No. 2, giving Penn the slight edge.

Antonio Prat/Martin Katz then defeated Matthew Rutter/Baylor Sai at No. 3, leaving the doubles point up to court No. 1. In a highly contested battle, #46 Vladislav Melnic/Adrien Burdet beat #78 Aaron Sandler/Kian Vakili, securing the doubles point for Miami.

In singles action, Prat jumped ahead 6-2 in set one, and then edged out Vakili 6-4 at No. 2, to extend the Hurricanes' lead, 2-0. At No. 6, Bharadwaj secured the first point for Penn with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Miami led the match 2-1, but Graziani took down Melnic 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 to even the match 2-2.

The Hurricanes jumped back on top, 3-2, as Katz defeated Sandler in straight sets at No. 3. The Quakers showed toughness once again, tying the match 3-3, as Rutter took down Burdet in a tight 7-6 (8-6) set one, and then a dominant 6-0 win in set two at No. 4.

The match came down to a showdown at No. 5, where Sai was in his third set while Rutter's match concluded. Sai picked up a win in set one (6-4), but Serra Sanchez evened the match with a win in the second set, leaving the results of the match to the third and final set. With the set tied at 2-2, Serra Sanchez began to pull away with a 4-2 lead, and eventually took the final set, 6-2 to solidify the win for Miami.

Up Next
Penn will be back at the Hect Tennis Center next weekend, with a pair of matchups against Philadelphia schools. The Quakers will face Temple and Saint Joseph's next Friday. The match against the Owls will begin at 12:00 p.m. and first serve is slated for 5:00 p.m. against the Hawks.

Results

DOUBLES
1. #46 Vladislav Melnic/Adrien Burdet (MIAMI) def. #78 Aaron Sandler/Kian Vakili (PENN) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Parashar Bharadwaj/Manfredi Graziani (PENN) def. Sam Baumgartner/Nacho Serra Sanchez (MIAMI) 6-2
3. Antonio Prat/Martin Katz (MIAMI) def. Matthew Rutter/Baylor Sai (PENN) 6-4

SINGLES
1. Manfredi Graziani (PENN) def. Vladislav Melnic (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-3
2. Antonio Prat (MIAMI) def. Kian Vakili (PENN) 6-2, 6-4
3. Martin Katz (MIAMI) def. Aaron Sandler (PENN) 6-4, 6-3
4. Matthew Rutter (PENN) def. Adrien Burdet (MIAMI) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
5. Nacho Serra Sanchez (MIAMI) def. Baylor Sai (PENN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Parashar Bharadwaj (PENN) def. Sam Baumgartner (MIAMI) 6-3, 6-0
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,6,1,3,4,5)