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Canes Crush Clemson (In Tennis)

The No. 35 University of Miami men's tennis team wrapped up the weekend in dominant fashion, posting a 7-0 victory over Clemson Sunday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
 
Following the victory, Miami (8-3, 2-0 ACC) ended a seven-match losing streak against the Tigers (6-6, 0-2 ACC), while also opening ACC action 2-0 for the first time since beginning conference play 3-0 during the 2011 season.
 
"Great effort by our guys to get back-to-back ACC victories," head coach Aljosa Piric said. "It is always tough to win back-to-back games in the ACC and for our guys to come out today and win the doubles point and then go out and win six singles matches, two days after beating Georgia Tech, just shows that our guys are ready to compete. Looking forward to seeing what these guys are capable of doing moving forward. We will take a couple days off before returning to practice in order to get ready for College Match Day against UCF, up in Orlando."

The Hurricanes jumped out to the early lead through doubles action and never looked back.
 
Competing at No. 3 doubles, freshman Franco Aubone and Francisco Bastias posted a 6-4 victory over Teodor Giusca and Carlos Kelaidis.
 
Moments later, redshirt junior Dane Dunlap and junior Stephen Madonia defeated Yizhou Liu and Simon Baudry, 6-4, to clinch the doubles point for Miami.
 
Competing on court 1, sophomores Adria Soriano Barrera and Tatsuki Shimamoto held a 5-4 advantage over Pierre-Louis Dodens and Jacob Jahn before play was halted.
 
In singles, the Hurricanes continued to cruise winning the opening set on all six courts.

Better, Faster, Stronger

For the third time in four years, the University of Miami women are the ACC Indoor Champions. 
 
The Canes sealed the deal on Saturday night when the 4x400m relay team won the event with a time of 3:32.75, a Championship record. The team made up of Symone Mason, Brittny Ellis, Kayla Johnson and Samantha Gonzalez scored the final 10 points for the Canes to go ahead of the Florida State Seminoles in second place. Saturday's time ranks fourth in the UM record books. 

"The 4x400 really took ownership of that race tonight with the way they ran, especially running by themselves like that," UM head coach Amy Deem said. "They really stepped up tonight." 
 

"I'm extremely proud of the way our team stepped up today," Deem said. "The throwers and sprinters/hurdlers really carried our team today with some impressive performances. Obviously I'm happy with winning the Championship, but I'm also really proud of Brittny and Kayla for putting themselves in position for Nationals."
 
The ACC Indoor Pentathlon winner and the third-place finisher in the high jump, Michelle Atherley also finished fifth in the event. Atherley scored 22 overall points and 16 in the field to earn 2019 Track Indoor MVP accolades. She was also named the 2018 ACC Outdoor Track MVP.

The Miami women scored 66 points on the final day of competition and climbed four spots in order to win their third Indoor Championship in four years. The women have now won four ACC Championships in the same amount of years. 
 
The Canes dug deep for the points after a tough Day 2 of competition. Selina Dantzler got the final day of competition rolling for the Canes as the freshman earned her first conference medal and finished third in the women's shot put with a personal-best mark of 15.90m. The mark ranks fourth in UM history. 
 
Sophomore Tiara McMinn took off in the 60m hurdles final as she blew past her competition, tying the NCAA's second-fastest time of 7.95 seconds while setting a new personal best time. McMinn now boasts Miami's top time in the event.
 

The women kept their hot streak alive on the track as the senior Ellis kept her momentum from the prelims and won the 400m with a time of 52.66. Senior Carolyn Brown registered a personal-best time of 7.32 seconds in the women's 60m dash to take home the silver. Brown now holds the fifth-fastest time in program history. 
 
Johnson gave the Canes eight points in the women's 800m dash, with a new Miami record time of 2:05.21 and a second-place finish. 
 
The men didn't leave empty handed as newcomer Raheem Chambers not only broke the UM record in the 60 with his time of 6.62, but also earned second-place in a field of six FSU opponents. It took only three races for Chambers to break the school record. 
 
The men's 4x400m relay team gave the Seminoles a run for their money, pushing them in the final leg and finished second with a time of 3:12.04. McKinly Brown, Tyrees Moulton, Davonte Foster and Thomas Burns now hold the fourth-best time in Miami history. The men's team finished 11th, scoring 28 points.

Get Out Your Brooms!

Brian Van Belle overcame injuries and three years in junior college to get to the mound inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on Sunday.
 
All of the obstacles were worth the wait, as the redshirt junior turned in a brilliant debut and earned his first win as a Hurricane. Van Belle struck out five and allowed just five hits over six shutout innings to help the Hurricanes (3-0) secure a sweep over Rutgers (0-3) with a 9-3 victory on Sunday afternoon. 
 
"I feel like my fastball was working really well," Van Belle said. "I kept it too high and I'd like to keep it lower. Other than that, I just tried to get quick contact and keep a fast tempo."
 

Van Belle was matched by Rutgers starter Tevin Murray over the first 2.2 innings of the game, as the junior lefty held Miami hitless in its first trip through the batting order. But back-to-back doubles from Tony Jenkins and Anthony Vilar ended the no-hit bid and the shut out, as Vilar's shot to the leftfield wall pushed Jenkins around to score. 
 
One batter later, Rutgers third baseman Carmen Sclafani threw a ball away trying to retire Freddy Zamora at first. Instead of ending the inning, Zamora ran all the way to third and Vilar scored from second to put Miami up, 2-0. Vilar finished the weekend 7-for-11 (.636) with four doubles, eight runs scored and four RBI.
 

Two innings later, Miami chased Murray from the game when it loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth. Vilar sparked the rally with a two-out base hit, while Zamora walked and Adrian Del Castillo was hit by a pitch before Murray was replaced by freshman right-hander Garrett French. The reliever threw a 1-2 wild pitch to the backstop that allowed Vilar to score and give the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead.
 
"Del Castillo has been special from Day 1, so we all knew that," head coach Gino DiMare said. "I was really, really impressed and certainly happy to see Vilar swing the bat. We faced some lefties and these guys hit off some lefties where they stayed in there and drove the ball the other way, which is a great sign for hitters."

Batter Up!

The University of Miami baseball team opened the Gino DiMare era with a record-setting victory over Rutgers on Friday night.
 
The Hurricanes (1-0) dominated Rutgers (0-1) for a 19-3 victory on opening night inside Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The 19-run performance set a record for runs scored on opening day against a Division I opponent, surpassing a 17-3 win over FIU on Jan. 28, 2006. 

"I feel happy about the game and I know our players have to feel good about it; they have to feel confident," DiMare said. "It's the most runs we've ever scored in an opener against a D1 team. That's a lot of openers and it's the most we've ever scored. We've played Rutgers many a times and we've struggled with them at times over the years. Certainly, you feel good about the game."
 
Miami's offense was impressive from the start, as shortstop Freddy Zamora crushed a 3-1 pitch from Rutgers starter Serafino Brito to the wall in left-center for an RBI double. Freshman Anthony Vilar, who worked a walk in his debut plate appearance, scored easily from first and the Canes had their first run of the 2019 season just three batters into the game.
 

"We wanted to set the tone for the game obviously early, but I've talked about setting the tone for the season and I don't think you can draw it up any better than that," DiMare said." We absolutely set the tone in the first inning. We went three up, three down and then put some runs on the board in the first inning."
 
The Hurricanes broke it open with a six-run second inning that featured a two-run triple by Willy Escala, an RBI double by Vilar and was capped by a two-run homer by Zamora that cleared the scoreboard in left field. 
 
"I definitely noticed the ball was jumping off the bat more than it did last year," Zamora said. "It's all about approach at the plate and getting a good pitch to hit, a pitch to drive, and I think I did a good job of that today."
 

Miami hitters had 20 hits on Friday night, but were especially successful with runners on base (14--for29) and with runners in scoring position (11-for-20).
 
"Overall a good start, " DiMare said. "I'm happy that we swung the bat because that's kind of been our nemesis the last few years and we've been working really hard on trying to improve on that. I've been looking forward to watching us play for a while now against somebody else and I am looking forward to moving forward here and getting better."
 

After driving a ball to the wall an inning earlier to send two runners home, Escala drove in his third run of the night with a perfectly placed safety squeeze that allowed Lala to score easily from third and give Miami an 8-0 lead. Two batters later, Vilar battled through an eight-pitch at-bat before smacking a two-run single to left that put the Canes up double-digits.
 
Hurricanes' ace Evan McKendry earned his first win of the season in impressive fashion. The junior right-hander held Rutgers to three runs on four hits over six innings while striking out eight and walking just one. McKendry retired the first 10 hitters he faced and did not allow a hit until Rutgers' 13^thbatter of the night.
 
"It was awesome, I mean a dream come true," McKendry said. "I always wanted to be the Friday night here. It was just a great experience."

Are U Ready To Play Ball?

The University of Miami baseball team begins its 75^thseason in program history and first under the direction of head coach Gino DiMare on Friday, Feb. 15 with the opener of a three-game series against Rutgers at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. 
 
First pitch for the season opener is set for 7 p.m. Friday. The first 500 fans through the gates will receive a 2019 schedule magnet. First pitch for Saturday's game is set for 7 p.m., and the first 1,000 fans will receive a t-shirt. First pitch for Sunday's series finale is set for noon.

All home games this season will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast live on 790 The Ticket, while Sunday's game will be carried in Spanish on 990 AM ESPN Deportes. All baseball games, home and away, can be heard on WVUM 90.5 FM and WVUM.org. 
 
Junior right-hander and 2018 All-ACC selection Evan McKendry (7-6, 3.52 ERA)earned the Opening Day start opposite Rutgers RHP Serafino Brito (1-2, 3.57 ERA).
 
Sophomore RHP Chris McMahon (1-1, 4.44 ERA) will take the mound for the Canes on Saturday against fellow sophomore LHP Harry Rutkowski (4-6. 5.34 ERA).
 
Newcomer Brian Van Belle will make his Miami debut in the series finale Sunday, as the redshirt junior right-hander will face off against junior lefty Tevin Murray (0-1, 5.09 ERA).

ACC All-Freshman honoree and 2018 Freshman All-America shortstop Freddy Zamora is back to lead a young and talented Miami offense. Zamora, who led Miami is nearly every offensive category a year ago, is joined by pitcher Daniel Federman and catcher Isaac Quiñones as 2018 Freshmen All-America honorees back for their sophomore season in 2019.
 
Miami added a recruiting class ranked eighth by D1Baseball and No. 10 nationwide by Baseball America to a group of 18 returning letterwinners from a 2018 team that finished 28-26 overall and 16-13 in ACC play.
 
Three members of Miami's recruiting class were selected in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft; catcher Adrian Del Castillo (36th round, White Sox), infielder Anthony Vilar (37th round, Cubs) and RHP Slade Cecconi (38th round, Orioles) all spurned professional overtures for a career at Miami after being selected in the 2018 MLB Draft.
 
Cecconi (#2), Del Castillo (#8) and Vilar (#48) were among the Top 50 Impact Freshmen in the ACC according to D1Baseball. Freshman LHP/UT JP Gates was ranked 10th among ACC freshmen. Baseball America rated Cecconi (No. 12), Gates (No. 16) and Del Castillo (No. 31) among the top 50 freshmen nationally. 

The Hurricanes' home schedule also includes series with Georgia Tech (March 8-10), NC State (March 22-24), Florida State (April 5-7), Virginia Tech (April 26-28) and Duke (May 16-18), among others.

Miami's road schedule includes trips to Florida (Feb. 22-24), North Carolina (March 15-17), Pittsburgh (March 29-31), Virginia (April 12-14), Louisville (April 18-20) and Wake Forest (May 10-12).

Show Me The Money!

The University of Miami announced Monday the largest gift commitment in the history of the women's basketball program.

BJ Abolt has pledged a seven-figure estate gift to establish a women's basketball scholarship endowment. Named after head coach Katie Meier at Abolt's request, it will be the first fully-endowed women's athletics scholarship at Miami.

"Katie Meier is the most dynamic person I have ever met," Abolt said. "It is a privilege to be a part of a young woman's scholastic and athletic dreams, and an honor to be associated with Coach Meier's program."

A member of the Golden Cane Society for over two decades, Abolt is a leadership donor to the Building Women's Champions Campaign. The Boswell, Ind., native moved to South Florida in 1963 and has been a supporter of Miami Athletics ever since.

Abolt and her longtime friend, Willie Mae Lamar, attend all women's basketball home games, driving six hours round-trip from their LaBelle, Fla., home. They also travel around the country to support the team during both the regular season and postseason.

"I'm honored, humbled and stunned by this gift," Meier said. "Our program's relationship with BJ is very personal and a gift like this feels like family. We could not feel more loved, supported and grateful. The impact of this gift will enhance our women's basketball program into perpetuity."

In Meier's 14 years at the helm of the Hurricanes, she has compiled a stellar 273-168 mark and led the team to its first ACC regular season title. Miami has reached the postseason the past nine years, making the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last eight. In addition, the Hurricanes hit the 20-win mark this season for the ninth time in 10 years.

Meier was the USA Basketball National Coach of the Year in 2013, as well as both the Associated PressNational Coach of the Year and ACC Coach of the Year in 2010-11.

UM Baseball FanFest A Big Hit

Over 80 Hurricanes baseball alumni returned to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on Saturday night for the annual FanFest and Alumni Game.
 
An alumni team that featured Colorado Rockies prospect Willie Abreu, Tampa Bay Rays farmhand Carl Chester and fan favorites like Kevin Brown and Kris Clute fell short to the 2019 Canes, 4-2. Gino DiMare, who starred as an outfielder for the Canes from 1989-92, was happy to see so many players come out for his first Alumni Game as head coach.
 
"It's awesome seeing the guys last night at the banquet and all of the guys that came out today," DiMare said. "That's what this Alumni Game is for. It was nice for me to see a lot of guys I played with, a lot of guys I coached and so many that played before my time. Always hearing [PA announcer Jay Rokeach] announcing them before the game is special. We had a bunch of big league guys come back. All of that creates a nice atmosphere for us and the fans."
 

The Canes wasted little time getting their offense going against alumni starter Danny Garcia, as Freddy Zamora doubled home Tony Jenkins to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the first. 
 
Two innings later, Willy Escala stole second and third before Anthony Vilar's sacrifice fly to left off left-hander Steven Ewing pushed Escala home and doubled the Canes' lead.
 
"We did some good things, some situational hitting where we knocked some guys in with less than two outs at third base," DiMare said. "We did a good job getting good pitches to drive the ball to the outfield."
 
Miami starter Greg Veliz was strong over four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. Veliz retired the final four batters he faced, while JP Gates and Daniel Federman each retired the side in order in their scoreless innings to run a streak of 10 consecutive alumni hitters retired.

When TonyCane Speaks, U Should Listen

I'll say this...we have been conditioned to expect failure.

Coker failed simply because he got lazy and could not recruit for his offense at a level to replace outgoing talent. That was his fault.

Shannon failed in part because he was put on a bargain level budget for staff and facilities at the same time a college football arms race had begun, and because his recruiting began to fail in the end.

Golden failed primarily for sticking with a defense antithecal to South Florida athletes. For five years we had a coach that refused to change a scheme that was simply not working. Five years of many people pointing out the obvious, but nothing changing. That was his fault.

Richt was the opposite. His offensive scheme failed to account for the talent of his athletes, and was ultimately as bad for Miami as D'No's schemes were for the defense. That's another three years of failure. That was his fault.

At minimum, it has been EIGHT YEARS with Miami suffering from either a very bad system on defense or on offense. We have not seen above average coaching on both sides of the ball simultaneously in a very, very long time.

Putting it another way, if 2016 - 2018 Manny Diaz had been defensive coordinator under Al Golden and had free reign, Golden would likely still be our coach. Or he would have gotten the head coaching job at Penn State in 2014.

If Jed Fisch had been the offensive coordinator under Mark Richt and had autonomy for the offense, I could see Miami only losing 2 games in 2016, 1 game in 2017, and 1 game in 2018 (make it 2 if you count the ACC title game).

We've been conditioned to believe that we're worse than we actually are. This is a talented, young roster whose primary question mark is going to be the quarterback (Williams or Tate). Talent-wise, we're on the level of Clemson from about four years ago. But we are heads and shoulders above everyone else in the Coastal. With decent coaching on both sides of the ball, I don't see why we should not go 7-1 in ACC regular season play this year.

National Signing Day: Canes Have A Solid Finish

NSD 2019 passed today without too much fanfare or hoopla. The Miami Hurricanes under new lead dog Manny Diaz finished as expected, maybe slightly below what we all wanted, but above what many may have expected.

In other words, it was a solid class and finish for Diaz in year one.

In other news...In its best defensive showing since Nov. 22, 2017, the University of Miami men's basketball team blew past Notre Dame, 62-47, Wednesday night at the Watsco Center.

Holding the Fighting Irish to the fewest points since holding La Salle to 46 last season, Miami was led by a pair of Canes who posted double doubles. It seems someone has been going to church on a regular basis!

Finishing the afternoon with a game-high 15 points, Dejan Vasiljevic pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to secure his first career double-double. The junior guard was joined by senior teammate Anthony Lawrence II, who posted 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The duo recorded the program's first pair of double-doubles on the same night, since Davon Reed (10 pts, 12 reb) and Kamari Murphy (11 pts, 13 reb) accomplished the feat against Buffalo in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March, 17, 2016.

Something Smells Fishy?

Squaring off against third-ranked Virginia Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, the University of Miami men's basketball team posted one of its best defensive efforts of the season, but it was not enough to take down the Cavaliers in a 56-46 defeat.
 
The Hurricanes (9-12, 1-8 ACC) were led offensively by Chris Lykes (16 points), while the sophomore guard was joined in double figures by redshirt sophomore forward Sam Waardenburg (10 points) and redshirt senior Zach Johnson (10 points). Senior centerEbuka Izundu finished just shy of a double-double, closing out the afternoon with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. As a unit, Miami only turned the ball over a season-tying low seven times, while forcing Virginia to cough the ball up 14 times.
 

In a defensive clash, the Canes limited the Cavaliers to 42.3 percent (22-of-52) shooting from the field and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the arc, while Miami shot 17-of-50 (34 percent) overall and just 4-of-21 (19.0 percent) from 3-point territory. The Cavaliers took advantage on the glass, out-rebounding Miami, 42-24.
 
Virginia (20-1, 8-1) was led by a trio in double figures, including De'Andre Hunter (14 points), Mamadi Diakite (11 points) and Kyle Guy (10 points).
 
With Miami trailing by five following the opening 5:46 of action, Waardenburg led the Canes on a personal 7-0 run over the next 3:06 of play, as Miami jumped in front, 11-9. However, Virginia countered with a 9-0 run of its own before entering the locker room maintaining a seven-point lead, 28-21, a lead it would not look back on.
 
The Hurricanes will return to action on Wednesday when they welcome Notre Dame to the Watsco Center at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.