North Carolina
ACC Championship
UNC Men's Tennis Tops Clemson in ACC Semifinals
April 22, 2000 | Men's Tennis
April 22, 2000
NORCROSS, GA. - The 20th-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team defeated Clemson 4-3 to advance to the finals of the ACC Championship, being held at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, Ga. The No. 2 seeded Tar Heels came back from a 3-0 deficit to claim the victory over the Tigers.
Clemson took an early 1-0 lead by winning at #1 and #3 doubles to secure the doubles point. The North Carolina duo of Tripp Phillips and David Cheatwood won 8-6 at #2 doubles over Marko Gojanovic and Tomasz Boniecki. Clemson then extended its lead to 3-0 with straight-set wins at #2 singles and #3 singles. The Tar Heels needed to win the remaining four singles matches to win the match.
Tar Heel sophomore Marcio Petrone won in straight sets at #4 singles, defeating Micah Thompson 7-6 (4), 6-2. Each of the three remaining matches would last three sets, the first ending when junior Chad Riley defeated Clemson's Eric Cohn 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at #6 singles. Then, North Carolina freshman Trystan Meniane evened the overall score at 3-3 with a comeback win at #5 singles over Marko Gojanovic 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2. The match was decided at #1 singles, with senior Tripp Phillips clinching the match for the Tar Heels. Phillips, ranked No. 30 in singles by the ITA, came back from a first-set loss to defeat Josh Goffi 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
"This is our absolute best team effort of the year," said Tar Heel Head Coach Sam Paul. "I'm extremely proud of our team. They came back from a big deficit and worked really hard to win this match. I'm especially proud of our seniors, they have shown a lot of leadership and maturity this year, especially during this tournament. We're just looking forward to playing in the championship match tomorrow."
This is the first time since 1996 that North Carolina will play in the finals. The team improves to 17-4 overall with the win and will face either Duke or Virginia at noon Sunday.
UNC vs. Clemson Singles Results
1. Tripp Phillips (UNC) d. Josh Goffi, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. Tomasz Boniecki (Clemson) d. Assaf Drori (UNC), 6-2, 7-6 (1)
3. Luis Garcia (Clemson) d. David Cheatwood (UNC), 6-2, 6-3
4. Marcio Petrone (UNC) d. Micah Thompson (Clemson), 7-6 (4), 6-2
5. Trystan Meniane (UNC) d. Marko Gojanovic (Clemson), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-3
6. Chad Riley (UNC) d. Eric Cohn (Clemson), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
UNC vs. Clemson Doubles Results
1. Goffi/Darren Knight (Clemson) d. Drori/Greg Archer (UNC), 8-5
2. Phillips/Cheatwood (UNC) d. Gojanovic/Boniecki (Clemson), 8-6
3. Cohn/Sandon Barth (Clemson) d. Petrone/Tyne Brownlow (UNC), 9-7
Players Mentioned
