North Carolina
Wake Forest
Men's Tennis Advances To ACC Final
April 20, 2002 | Men's Tennis
April 20, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - The 25th-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team upset 23rd-tanked Wake Forest 4-2 Saturday afternoon to advance to the championship match of the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Tournament at Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C.
Coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels will play Sunday in a quest to win their first ACC championship since 1992. UNC last appeared in the finals in 2000. Carolina will play Georgia Tech which upset Duke 4-0 Saturday in the other semifinal match. That is the first time the Blue Devils have failed to reach the ACC final since the Tar Heels beat them in the 1990 tournament semifinals.
Carolina and Georgia Tech will play for the title tomorrow at 11 a.m. UNC beat the Yellow Jackets 4-3 in the regular season in a thriller played in Chapel Hill.
Sophomore Andrew Metzler clinched the match for the Tar Heels Saturday as he came from one set down at #6 singles to win 6-4 in the third set over Wake Forest's Justin Kauffman. The complete match score was 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Also winning in singles were sophomore Nicholas Monroe at #4 singles by a 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) score over Trent Brendon and freshman Daniel Pincbeck at #3 singles by a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 score over Derrick Spice.
Carolina also secured the doubles point but then lost the first set in five of the six singles matches. Monroe and Pinchbeck beat Spice and Mike Murray 8-6 at #2 and Trystan Meniane and Geoff Boyd downed Dave Bere and Kauffman 8-4 at #3 doubles.
"I give Wake Forest a lot of credit," an obviously enthused Coach Sam Paul said via a cell phone interview just minutes after clinching the match. "We played really well in the doubles to secure the point but they came right out at us and won the first set in five of six singles matches. We haven't been in a hole like that all year against anybody.
"But on our team we talk about rewarding dig-in, dig-out awards. You can dig yourself into a hole but you can also dig yourself out of one. Today Andrew Metzler won that award. When he came back and won his second set that lifted the spirits of everyone on our team.
"Georgia Tech played extremely well today in beating Duke 4-0. I think it will be a great match tomorrow."
After UNC won the doubles point, Wake Forest quickly moved in front 2-1 with wins at #1 singles by 40th-ranked David Lowenthal over 34th-ranked Marcio Petrone and at #5 singles by Murray over Geoff Boyd. But Monroe tied the score with a close win in a second set tiebreaker and Pinchbeck closed out his match just a minute to put the Heels up 3-2.
Metzler then secured the winning point. At 5-3 in the second set he had match points but it went to a 10th game and Metzler served successfully for the 6-4 third set win.
UNC's Trystan Meniane had his singles match called at #2 with the score standing slightly in his favor at 1-6, 6-2, 4-3 against Bere.
Carolina improved to 18-5 on the season, its most wins since the 2000 team finished 18-6. Wake Forest fell to 17-5 with their second loss of the season to the Tar Heels. Carolina also beat Wake in the regular season by a 4-3 score in Chapel Hill.
With Carolina's eighth-ranked women upsetting seventh-ranked Wake Forest 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday both UNC teams will play for ACC championships Sunday. The Tar Heels women (21-4) will face fourth-ranked Duke in the finals at 11 a.m.
Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Semifinals
#25 North Carolina 4, #23 Wake Forest 2
Singles
No. 1 - #40 David Loewenthal (WF) d. #34Marcio Petrone (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 - Trystan Meniane (UNC) led David Bere (WF) 1-6, 6-2, 4-3, DNF
No. 3 - Daniel Pinchbeck (UNC) d. Derrick Spice (WF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 - Nicholas Monroe (UNC) d. Trent Brendon (WF) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
No. 5 - Mike Murray (WF) d. Geoff Boyd (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 - Andrew Metzler (UNC) d. Justin Kauffman (WF) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
(Winner of majority of matches earns one team point)
No. 1 - Petrone/Archer (UNC) vs. Loewenthal/Brendon (WF) 7-8, DNF
No. 2 - Monroe/Pinchbeck (UNC) d. Murray/Spice (WF) 8-6
No. 3 - Boyd/Meniane (UNC) d. Bere/Kauffmann (WF) 8-4
Players Mentioned
