Flores Fills Role as Freshman

The No. 29 UM men’s tennis team won seven of its last nine matches. The squad is led by seniors: Christian Blocker (1st singles) , Keith Crowley (2nd singles), Waylon Chin (3rd), Carl Sundberg (4th), and Eduardo Pavia (5th singles).

But it’s the sixth singles player –true freshman Gabriel Flores– who has the hot hand for the Canes. In those last nine matches, Flores is 8-1. Prior to Friday’s loss against UVA’s Julen Uriguen, Flores owned a perfect 5-0 record in singles play during the month of March. This afternoon, he grinded out a 7-6, 6-4 victory against Virginia Tech’s Lucas Oliveira.

“He’s been rock solid for us,” head coach Mario Rincon said. “He’s only getting better and getting stronger. He’s doing an amazing job for us and he’s going to be great for us in the future as well.”

Flores admitted he got nervous just walking onto the court in the beginning of the season. Now, after some hard fought victories (some of which clinched 4-3 victories for UM), he is more confident than ever.

“I know I’m going on the court and it’s going to be a battle,” Flores said. “I feel really confident right now with my game and how I’m playing. I know the team can depend on me in any situation.”