Univ. of Minnesota, Twin Cities Team Page
The 66th-ranked Minnesota men’s tennis team won its fourth straight match on Saturday, upsetting No. 40 Virginia Tech 4-3 at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. Rok Bonin’s win over Patrick Daciek gave the 5-3 Gophers their first victory away from the Baseline Tennis Center this year.
In identical fashion to its previous three matches, Minnesota opened the match by sweeping its way through the doubles point.
Senior Phillip Arndt and freshman Jack Hamburg gave the Gophers the advantage by topping Hunter Koontz and Lucas Oliveira 8-5 at No. 2. Minnesota secured the 1-0 edge in the match when Leandro Toledo and Juan Pablo Ramirez won by the same score at the third spot.
Julian Dehn and Rok Bonin, the 50th-ranked tandem in the nation, finished off the sweep with an 8-4 win at the top position by beating No. 44 Luka Somen and Corrado Degl' Incerti Tocci.
The combinations of Dehn and Bonin (7-0) and Toledo and Ramirez (5-0) are both unbeaten on the spring season. Dating back to their 7-0 over Arizona on Feb. 11, the Gophers have won their last 12 doubles matches overall.
In singles, the Hokies got on the board to tie the score when Mauricio Antun beat Dehn in straight sets at No. 4, but Minnesota answered that with a Hamburg win in the fifth flight.
Virginia Tech overcame the 2-1 deficit and pulled ahead by one point after 68th-ranked Somen eked out a three-set win over Arndt at No. 1 and Virginia Tech’s Trpimir Kujundzic did the same to Mathieu Froment at No. 6.
After dropping his first set 6-2, No. 112-ranked Toledo knotted the match by taking the second set 6-4 and winning the match with a 6-2 third-set victory in the third position.
Similar to Toledo, Bonin lost his first set At No. 2, but came back for a crucial win. Daciek won the first set 7-5, but Bonin rebounded with 6-3 and 6-4 wins to give the Gophers the 4-3 triumph.
Minnesota next plays in a home match in Rochester, Minn. against No. 43 Drake next Friday and will then visit 11th-ranked California and 53rd-ranked Cal Poly the following week to wrap up non-conference play. The Gophers return to the Baseline Tennis Center to pick up Big Ten play against Michigan State on March 23.
Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center • Blacksburg, Va.
No. 66 Minnesota 4, No. 40 Virginia Tech 3
Singles Competition:
1. No. 68 Luka Somen (VT) def. Phillip Arndt (MINN) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Patrick Daciek (VT) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 112 Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. No. 77 Lucas Oliveira (VT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Mauricio Antun (VT) def. Julian Dehn (MINN) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Corrado Degl' Incerti Tocci (VT) 6-4, 6-4
6. Trpimir Kujundzic (VT) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Competition:
1. No. 50 Rok Bonin/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. No. 44 Luka Somen/Corrado Degl' Incerti Tocci (VT) 8-4
2. Phillip Arndt/Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. Hunter Koontz/Lucas Oliveira (VT) 8-5
3. Leandro Toledo/Juan Pablo Ramirez (MINN) def. Mauricio Antun/Trpimir Kujundzic (VT) 8-5
Match Notes:
No. 66 Minnesota 5-3
No. 40 Virginia Tech 4-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3*,1); Singles (4,5,1,6,3,2*)
