Langmo and Soriano Serve Their Way Into Sweet 16
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Confident and effective service game propelled University of Miami senior Christian Langmo and freshman Adria Soriano to a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Arkansas’ Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanrujo Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Hurricane tandem (7-7), ranked No. 30 in the nation, earned the program’s first trip to a doubles Sweet 16 since 2008 and will face No. 36 Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler of Florida, who upset TCU’s sixth-ranked and 5-8-seeded duo, Friday.
Langmo and Soriano improved to 5-1 against ranked opponents this season, with the latest triumph being their fourth against top-40 duos.
Miami’s representatives were impeccable on their serve, winning all 11 of their service games and neutralizing all three of Arkansas’ break points. Langmo and Soriano found themselves in a hole in the fifth game of the opening set, trailing 30-40 on their serve, but canceled out both of Sanrujo and Mesquida’s break chances and won the deuce game to remain on track, 3-2.
“Christian and Adri both played really well,” Miami assistant coach Petar Danolic said. “Serve is a weapon for both of them and they did that extremely well today. I liked how they stay composed under pressure. They played big in important moments and that’s how you win at this level.”
As the two duos continued holding in set one, the breaking point in the contest came in the 12th and final game, when Langmo sent a volley down the line right off the serve, rooting the Razorbacks to their spots for the first break in the contest, 7-5.
The Hurricanes continued attacking their opponents’ serve in the second set, winning at least two points in six of Arkansas’ first eight service games, and broke for the second time at 3-1 in the second set, which was the largest in-set lead in the match at the time. Langmo and Soriano finished the match 2-of-3 on break opportunities.
Arkansas’ tandem put pressure on Miami’s serve in the seventh game of the second set as well, but the Canes pulled it off in a deuce once again to grab a match-high three-game lead at 5-2.
Langmo, who served for 1-0 leads in both sets, closed out the contest from behind the line for 6-3 in the second set to extend his collegiate career by at least another day.
Miami’s aggressive serve produced four aces throughout the contest – two per each Hurricane and two in the form of game-winning points.
As pressure heightened on the Razorbacks, they committed two double faults, as opposed to Miami’s one early in the match.
The Canes’ victory rounded off a perfect day for the Hurricanes’ tennis teams as Langmo and Soriano joined women’s tennis sophomore Estela Perez-Somarriba in the Sweet 16 Friday. Perez-Somarriba notched a straight-set victory against Megan McCray of Oklahoma State, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship.
Live stats and video stream for the Canes’ Sweet 16 match and for all championship matches can be found HERE.
For all of the latest news around Miami’s men’s tennis team, follow @CanesMensTennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,or go to HurricaneSports.com.
THURSDAY RESULTS
First Round
No. 30 Christian Langmo/Adria Soriano (UM) def. No. 37 Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanrujo (UA), 7-5, 6-3
