Clemson 5, UNC Wilmington 2
I was worried about this match. I knew UNCW would be ready to pull an upset and they certainly came to play.
Doubles:
1: Maden bros def 15 Blank/Cooprider 8-2
It's a joy to see Dom Maden back. Forgot how good he and his brothers chemistry is in doubles. Dom is a phenomenonal doubles player. Can hit a lot of shots that the other side dosent expect. The real question is why did it take two years to put the Madens together in doubles.
2 and 3 doubles was all UNCW at the start. They came out firing and going for it. Clemson fought back on both courts but came up short. Hard to rally from 1-5 down.
Singles:
1: 57 Yannick Maden def 22 Rafael Aita 6-2 6-4
Best win of the year for Maden rankings wise. Great boost to the ranking. Aita looked very strong early, using his cross court forehand to dominate points. But Maden used angles and variety to throw Aita off and really Aira was never in the match after the early break. 4th straight set win for Maden over a ranked opponent in the spring(also had one in fall vs Saba) where a set didn't event get to 7-5. (Also over Mies,O'Shaughnessey and Stieflemeyer)
2: Gerardo Meza def Chris Cooprider 6-3 5-7 6-0
Meza retook the #2 slot from Harrington. Probably a good switch going forward. Cooprider is a 5'7 fast guy but has decent firepower as well. At 5-6 30-30 with meza serving, Cooprider made a dubious call on the sideline away from the ref chair. Not overruled and gave Cooprider the set point. He won the set amongst boos from crowd. In the 3rd the crowd and Meza really gave Cooprider a tough time. He became demoralized and Meza despite always looking physically worn, was fresher and his shots seemed to have even more zip than usual. This match ended up finishing last.
3: Hunter Harrington def Sam Williams 7-5 2-6 6-4
Harrington played 3 for the first time this season. Sam Williams is 6'6 with a one hand backhand. Has decent movement and net ability for a big guy as well. Harrington trailed in the 3rd set 0-3. This is when things were looking dicey for a Clemson win. Harrington down 0-3, Ansari at 1-1 in 3rd and meza just losing the 2nd set. But out of nowhere Harrington won 5 straight games, at the same time Meza was in the midst of winning a 6-0 3rd set. Impressive close by both players.
4: Kosta Blank def Dom Maden 6-1 6-3
While Dom looked like he hadn't missed a beat in doubles, singles reminded everyone of how much time he has missed. His shots were fine but poor tactics and not quite the right movement did him in here. Signs if rust. Wibowo may have been a better idea in singles for today but then again gives Maden a couple of getting back into it matches (another vs Miami coming up) to prepare for FSU.
5: Zac Rigsby def Kaue Perreira 6-2 6-4
Good win for Rigsby. Perreira had some nice wins on his résumé including one over Koch. Rigsby lead 6-2 5-2, but Perreira made a slight run and broke for 4-5 with a great passing shot and a loud Vamooooo! But Rigsby broke right back and took the match right there before any rally could gain steam.
6: Austin Ansari def Zachary Hublitz 6-1 3-6 6-4
Ansari steamrolled through the first set and everyone expected a routine win. But the lefty Hublitz upped his game and forced Ansari to change tactics a bit. In the 3rd Ansari buckled down and got the line break he needed and was not threatened on his own serve. Ansari had about 10 break points on the 3rd while he faced 0 making the 6-4 score a little misleading.